


Birds of a Feather

by curiumKingyo



Series: Every hour wounds, the last one kills [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M, bad guys in love, retelling of season one, villain!Cisco AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-10 03:44:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5569741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiumKingyo/pseuds/curiumKingyo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cisco has learned to take whatever he wants with his own hands, Harrison likes people who take what they want. It all starts with an internship position and ended in a convoluted time traveling scheme to get them both what they want most - cue villains in love, nonsensical science and possible canon slaughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Cisco learns, from an early age, two things: not to expect anything from his family, and to take whatever he wants with his own hands.

His family can't handle two geniuses and, unfortunately, this spot was already taken when Cisco was born. The burden of being the second son only made heavier by Dante's perceived talent, that little thing that kept him floating above mediocrity. Truth be told, Dante has his merits but in no way does he deserve to be the family genius. Cisco understands that being a musician is important and difficult and worthy but he can't help but feel a bitter taste in his tongue when Dante has a special shelf on the living room for his music awards and Cisco has to keep his Science Fairs and Robotic Olympics prizes on a forgotten drawer.

At school he doesn't have much about himself other than his inteligence, being a short, brown boy with no aptitude for sports and the self steem of a slug doesn't make him popular guy material. Once again he envies Dante who can easily navigate the ocean of middle school society with the confidence and flair only a favorite son can display. When he is eleven, Cisco learns that being the bullie's personal nerd can grant some protection but can only take him so far - being the teacher's pet takes him farther. And so he masters the balance between being on the teacher's good side and not falling into the pit of nerds to be bullied. It is exausting since most of times it means doing twice as much homework or helping correcting tests or one or another time consuming thing. But Cisco smiles and does whatever is asked and he learns that smiles are a good disguise. Humor, witty comments and sassy remarks, when done in the right ammount, make him not exactly beloved but amusing enough to earn his place.

And so he goes on, smiling and helping teachers and jocks alike, making fun superheroes references, skipping grades and winning prizes. By the time he graduates on High School, two years earlier than the regular curriculum, he has learned how to pull and push people around him in order to get what he wants. He has learned to smile the brightest and look unassuming and non-threatening. And if sometimes those smiles and all that helpfulness make someone change an opinion or decision on his favor, well, even better.

\--

Cisco is halfway through his Mechanical Engineering degree when one of his teachers asks to talk to him in private.

"So, are you enjoing your time here?" she asks, making small talk as the other students leave the room. He replies politely, being polite always helps garner people's simpathy. When they are finally alone in the room, she asks if he's interested in an internship. The question takes him by surprise, an internship could either be an excellent headstart on his career or a complete waste of time - it all depended on who was looking for an intern. He gives a vaguely positive answer and the teacher takes a business card from her pocket. "I suppose you know that our Institute has been working with STAR Labs for a few years now and because of this Dr. Harrison Wells visits our facilities every once in a while. On his last visit he told me he was looking for a new assistant and I may have told him about you..."

Harrison Wells! Cisco can barely keep a straight face. The man is a genius, built one of the most respectable research facilities in America from scratch, has countless papers and studies published, has the public's attention and respect and the most beautiful pair of eyes ever caugh on film - this last one being purely Cisco's personal opinion. Yes, an internship under Dr. Wells would catapult Cisco's career and be the fulfilment of a dream at the same time. He smiles at the teacher and she continues. "He asked me to give this to you, his secretary's number, call her and she'll schedule an interview for you."

Cisco takes the business card with reverence. The paper is thick, the design clean; only Dr. Wells' name and position on one side, info and the STAR Labs logo on the other. "Thank you very much, Professor Green. I won't waste this opportunity, you'll remember this as the best decision you've made!" She laughs good heartedly and tells him to hurry and call before someone else gets the position.

As he leaves the room, he starts to study his situation. From what the teacher said, he understands that there is only one position available, and that Dr. Wells is looking for a personal assistant - otherwise the HR department would be doing the recruiting. Other people were in line for this position and Cisco couldn't aford to lose it, so he devises a plan to grant his place in Dr. Wells' personal staff. With the idea set on his mind, he marches to the software engineering building and slips into one of the laboratories.

He is a mechanical engineer, and software isn't quite his forte but he is nothing if not adaptable and determined. The first thing he does is enter STAR Labs public website and send an e-mail, which he tracks to the laboratory's intern system. He then starts working on invading it, which takes him a good portion of an hour. When he finally gains access to Dr. Wells' secretary's e-mail and daily planner he smiles, thrilled.

Just as he had thought, there are four interviews for the assistant position scheduled for the following day, and one for the day after that. He opens the secretary's e-mail and sends a message for the other candidates politely telling them that the position has been occupied and cancelling their meetings with Dr. Wells. After sending the message he deletes the interviews from the schedule and uses the newly emptied spots to schedule a one hour long meeting for himself. The last thing he does is send Dr. Wells an e-mail saying that most candidates had given up on the recruiting process but that one was still interested and that he'd be there for a meeting the next day at 2 pm.

Cleaning his traces takes another half an hour or so, and when he finishes it is time to go home. He carefully puts Dr. Well's card into his wallet and picks a pack of Twizzlers from the bottom of his backpack before exiting the building. Just as his feet touche the ground outside, a man in a dark suit approaches him. "Mr. Ramon?" Cisco swallows a rather big piece of the Twizzler before nodding. "I'm here to take you, Dr. Wells is waiting."

Cisco's eyes widen. "Dr. Harrison Wells?" he asks, and the man nods curtly before guiding him to a black sedan with the STAR Labs logo on each side. The man doesn't say a word, and Cisco is grateful because he really needs this time to think. Ok, so Wells found out his scheme way sooner than he was expecting. He wanted to meet him before his knowing of Cisco's rescheduling antics. At this point, he finally realizes what he's done is not entirely legal and that Dr. Wells could not only give him the scolding of his life but also sue him. _Oh yeah, nice going Cisco, get banned from Central City science community even before you get in_ ; is all he thinks as he watches the city moves by.

Taking a deep breath and another huge bite of the Twizzler he is still holding, he decides to use his usual tactics. _Be polite and gauge his reaction_ , he tells himself. Say you're sorry and that you come from a humble family and how much the internship would help you... give him the whole deal and maybe he lets you off the hook with just a disappointed look.

He finishes the Twizzler just as the car enters STAR Labs underground parking lot. The man shows him to the elevator, and leaves with a murmur of _sixth floor to the right_. At this moment, he considers just running away, but he knows better than to run from someone like Harrison Wells. He braces himself and as he walks down the corridor his mind keeps repeating _be polite and gauge his reaction, be polite and gauge his reaction..._ He arrives at a white door with a stainless steel sign indicating that was Dr. Wells' office. He knocks twice and waits for what feels like an eternity.

Finally the door opens revealing Dr. Wells himself, closer than Cisco had ever hoped to see him before. He smiles at Cisco and for once the younger man can't read that expression. It is not a repressed anger smile, nor a condescending one. Gauging Harrison Wells' reaction might prove to be a lot harder than Cisco has anticipated. "I'm glad you could make it here on such short notice, Mr. Ramon." Dr. Wells says, stepping aside and allowing Cisco in.

"I was taken by surprise but couldn't refuse the invitation." Cisco replies and that is actually true. Wells offers him a seat in one of the white armchairs by the window, the younger man sits stiffly and watches as the other elegantly sit by his side.

A moment of silence stretches between them Cisco barely moves, still completely unsure of what to do, under the intense blue stare of Dr. Wells. The renowed scientist has his fingers interlaced as a dome and his chin rests lightly over them as he studies Cisco. Wells licks his lips and Cisco suspends his breath while the older man finally lowers his hands and starts to talk again. "I must say I'm impressed. I saw your resume and it is remarkable but, when I talked to Professor Green I was under the impression you were a much more... tame person." Cisco swallows dryly. "She said you are always helpful and rarely makes a stand for yourself. Yet, you have pulled quite the audacious move to get this interview. So I wonder, and I want you to answer me: who is the real? The tame teacher's pet or this audacious professional?"

_This is the moment_ , Cisco thinks, _maybe this wasn't a fuck up on my side after all..._ "Being tame is an advantage in an educational environment, but on the real world one must stand for oneself. I really want this position and I did what was within my reach to improve my chances."

"You commited a crime as well, and I hope you are aware of this." Cisco nods shortly but doesn't open his mouth. Wells continues. "I don't want you to question my moral standards, but I see the value of someone willing to risk so much for a chance." He smiles as he takes in Cisco's reaction; his widening eyes, his tongue quickly sweeping over dry lips. "I just need to make it clear, Mr. Ramon, you did what you needed to get the position but now you need to prove yourself to me. Honor the trust I'm giving you now and don't you ever dare to bite the hand that feeds you again." There is a threat in his words, but Cisco would never bite Harrison Wells' hand, he would worship them and kiss them and feed from them for all his life if given the chance.

"I would never betray you, sir." He says, and it is true again. Dr. Wells seems to recognize it and he smiles again.

"I'm glad we're both satisfied with this outcome." His eyes glint and Cisco wonders if there is anything else to his choice of words. "Apparently I have a one hour meeting with you tomorrow at 2pm, Mr. Ramon, I hope you are punctual."

Understanding the dismiss, Cisco stands up and nods respectfuly. "I am, sir. Thank you for having me here." Wells nods back at him, still sitting almost languidly on his armchair. "I'll see you tomorrow, sir."

Cisco is at the door, heart still pounding when Wells calls him once again, he turns on his heels. "Sir?"

Wells is on his side, incredibly close, and Cisco is sure he hasn't heard the man moving, let alone to get so close so fast. "I would appreciate it if you called me just Dr. Wells, is that possible?" Cisco suddenly understands how ants feel under magnifying glasses. Dr. Wells' eyes are incredibly blue and so sharp and attentive Cisco knows that in those few seconds Harrison Wells saw more in him than anyone else had during all his life. He nods, eyes never leaving Dr. Well's and he almost misses the smile on the man's lips. "Very good than, Cisco. See you tomorrow, have a good night."


	2. Chapter 2

STAR Labs has over a hundred employees and Dr. Harrison Wells likes to keep an eye on each one of them. It is easy when you have such a fast brain. He takes notes of what his subordinates think of the laboratory, of their jobs, their boss, coworkers; everything that can show him who deserves their place there and who doesn't. For some time, people from each department interacted only with one another, friendship between different areas being quite rare. But it changed and the reason is right in front of Dr. Wells: Cisco Ramon.

  
In the ten months of so Cisco's been working for him, Wells saw him woven his way from one department to the other, always willing and charming, quickly being welcomed to any room, lab or group he wanted in. In a few months, Cisco has become an unanimity, everyone's favorite, the person all the other sought when in doubt or trouble. Sometimes Wells thinks people will start making a line to sit by Cisco's side during lunch break and he has to laugh because his assistant had told him time and time again that he'd never been popular at school. But Wells sees the way Cisco carefully brings people to his side, how he dances around them never actually going out of his way, as to not call attention to himself, but always there when they needed.

  
Dr. Wells has always been on top and has no experience adulating people, but he has been fawned upon his whole life so he knows what Cisco is doing - and he is doing it remarkably well. He sees his young assistant asking for help with things he doesn't need to just to make people feel useful, and sees him paying compliments that aren't undeserved but just a bit exaggerated. He wonders if anyone notices what Cisco is doing, but he knows that no; the engineer is being so subtle about it he doubts anyone would. Even if they did, it would be late - in little less than a year everyone in STAR Labs was in Cisco's pocket.

  
As Dr. Wells considers this turn of events, a sense of pride grows in his chest. Day after day, hiring Cisco proves to be the best thing he could have done. From the begining he had sensed something great about the young man, and he never disappointed. With a secret smile he realizes how much of himself he sees in the boy - how Cisco's demeanor changed slightly to mach his own posture, how he has started to think like Wells and how some people began to consider him a kind of accessible Dr. Wells. If anyone else started doing this he'd recognize it as a threat, but Cisco did it like a hommage and he couldn't help but feel honored.

  
He isn't surprised when he realizes how much he too enjoys Cisco's company, specially because his interactions with the younger man are genuine. Since the hiring Cisco has never once lied to him, quite the contrary, he'd always been frank and honest. Cisco always has opinions and he never shies away of telling them even if he is in disagreement with Wells. For the veteran scientist, it is refreshing and certainly endearing too so he allows himself to get a little closer to the engineer than he had firstly planned.

  
Cisco is working with another mechanical engineer and a software specialist as Wells overlooks them in silence. Cisco is leading them through some problems with his usual tactics; he gives the answers and solutions in a way that makes the other two think they solved the problem; and asks all the right question to show them the right path. Wells watches with a fond smile hidden behind his computer screen. When the small team finishes their work, the software programmer thanks Cisco with a large smile and the mechanical engineer claps his back. Wells' eyes zoom to the other man's hand, that lingers on Cisco's shoulder for a long while. He feels an irrational urge to go there and bodily stand between the poor engineer and Cisco - how dare him touch _his_ genius?

  
This urge lessens when he sees the sour face Cisco makes at the hand so casually resting on his back. It is a blink-and-you'll-miss expression but for Wells' eyes it lasts longer. In that fraction of a second that stretches before the speedster's eyes, he sees that Cisco is as disgruntled by this as he and it somehow appeases him. Now he just needs to make sure that Cisco's and Mr. Webber's working schedules never cross again.

  
Webber and the software engineer, Day, leave soon after and Cisco turns to Wells with a tired smile. "That was troublesome..." he says, untying his hair and shaking his head a little to let it untangle.

  
"Could've gone faster if you were working with only Mrs. Day." Dr. Wells says, gauging Cisco's reaction. The young man gives him a smile playful and mischiveous at once.

  
"Surely it wasn't Webber's specialty, but he is doing a great job with the nanoparticles of carbon so it isn't fair to be too hard on him now." As he speaks he crosses the lab and sits by Dr. Wells' side, picking his own computer and typing a few notes there.

  
"Aren't you being too lenient?" Wells presses on. It takes Cisco a moment to reply, he stares at the screen with his bottom lip stuck between his teeth for a few seconds before turning to his boss and smiling.

  
"I'm in no position to be lenient or not, I have no power over Webber's position or career. I do think, however, that he should be kept in the small projects where he can shine."

  
Dr. Wells smiles and places his own hand on Cisco's shoulder. The engineer's reaction is diametrically opposed to when Webber did so, his pupils dilate a bit and once again it is only Wells' extremely fast and perceptive eye that catches the diminute details on Cisco's face. A muscle twitches in his cheek, a smile trying to form but being kept at bay, his eyebrows falls into a soft line and his throat works around an invisible lump. "I think I'll take your advice, Cisco."

  
The hand lingers and now it isn't necessary to be as perceptive as Wells to notice the blush on Cisco's face.


	3. Chapter 3

A soft knock makes him look up from his screen. It is too late to be Cisco, so it might be Suzan, his secretary. "Come in" he says, moving his cursor to mark the paragraph he is reading. The door cracks open and Suzan enters, a polite smile on her face.

"Good night, Dr. Wells." He replies and she comes closer, leaning against the chair in front of his desk. "I wanted to check if you'd like to sign Cisco's card, sir."

"Card?" He asks, reaching for the paper she's offering him. It is a simple office sheet with a drawing of a robot made of round pods saying _I'm GLaD you're still alive and working with us_. Underneath the image there are many signatures, the back of the paper also almost completely taken by names.

"Tomorrow is Cisco's second year here, and Day from software development did the card. She's asked me if you'd like to sign since Cisco is your personal assistant." She says it like a question. He reads the names on the card; all the mechanical department, most of the software, biomechanics and biomedicine as well. All the security and cleaning staff too. Most are only names and smiling faces but some are short messages of congratulations.

"I wasn't aware of the date." He says at last, picking a pen and choosing a spot to sign. "Did Day plan anything else?" He asks, carefully twisting his pen open.

"Oh yeah, she made a reservation on a pub and some of the guys are going there." She remains quiet for a while, watching him like a schoolkid waiting for a teacher to correct a test. "Hmmm, would you like to go, too, sir?" She asks at last. He finishes writing on the card, closes the pen with a thoughtful expression and stares at the card for a little longer than necessary.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to, but give me the details and I'll try to." He hands the card back and she folds it carefully before stuffin it into her daily planner.

"He would appreaciate it if you did, Dr. Wells. I believe nobody here holds you in higher regard than him." She tells him sincerely. "I must get going now, I'll put the details in your schedule tomorrow, is that ok?" He nods with a polite smile. "Good night Dr. Wells."

"Good night, Suzan. See you tomorrow."

\---

A soft knock makes him look up from his screen. Right on time to be Cisco. "Come in" he says, leaning back on his chair and looking as Cisco opens the door and slips inside his office. "Good morning, Cisco."

"Good morning Dr. Wells." Cisco greets with his usual good humor. Wells smiles at him. "You look like you're in a good mood." The younger man observes, crossing the office to pick the tablet where Wells controls his task list.

"Actually I am, Cisco." Wells follows Cisco with his smiling eyes and the other looks at him with an adorable puzzled little smile. "I understand today is some kind of a milestone for you here, right?"

"Oh, yes. Yes it is!" Cisco has the tablet in his hand and he clutches it against his chest for a second or so, looking bashful and so young. "Two years, hun? Never thought someone like you would put up with me for so long."

"Someone like me?"

"Yeah, like... you." Cisco avoids looking at him, and he all but wants to take the boy's face and make their eyes meet. "I mean, you're Harrison Wells, everyone knows you are important, and respected, and and famous. I'm a nerd who eats too much candy and talks a lot."

"You sell yourself poorly, Cisco. Maybe I should work on that." Now Cisco's eyes shoot up to look at him, a mix of incredulity and hope on them. "But enough with it. I thought you'd like to celebrate this date."

"Oh yes, I will. Tina and some other guys from software development have invited me to a pub later and"

"I was talking about work, Cisco." Wells interrupts with a small smirk on his face, Cisco shuts himself with a guilty look. "I have some special projects I've been thinking about and I'd like to show them to you. If there is anyone of your interest you can take it, what do you think?"

Cisco lights up like a Christmas tree. "Special projects?" He repeats, stepping closer when Wells stood up from his chair to reach for the cabinet on the other side of the room.

"Yes, some are small personal goals, or just too theoretical or still too underdeveloped to be put in the STAR Labs line." He retrieves a black plastic cylinder, the kind architects use to transport their projects. He brings it to the big meeting table at the center of the room and motions for Cisco to come closer. The younger man looks like a puppy waiting for a toy to be tossed for him, his eyes shining, his smile pulling his cheeks taut as Wells deliberatedly opened the canister and unfolded the papers inside.

As he finishes unwrapping the projects, Wells steps aside allowing Cisco to get closer. It is with barely contained enthusiasm that Cisco looks at the diagrams and specifications on each of the several projects. Some of them make him bite his lip, some make him make small noises of excitment. Wells watches, delighted. With each new project Cisco seems more and more torn about which one to choose. He runs his hand over the papers reverently, a loving expression on his face.

"Are those even possible?" Cisco asks. Wells knows they are, maybe not exactly at that point in time however. He's drawn those projects from memories of things he had done on his own time, with much better technology available. All of them would be groundbreaking in that moment, despite being considerably common for Wells. A mind as brilliant as Cisco's would certainly absorb a lot from studying the projects, even if they were still impossible to finish. Cisco lets his eyes roam the written algorithms and equations, and Wells realizes he is a little breathless. "You make the most incredible things, this is so advanced! It feels like you're not even from this time."

For a split second Wells' heart stop. He tries to remember anytime he might have outed himself but he can't remember anything. Even his personal files and logs are stored on Gideon's servers and completely safe. There is no way of Cisco knowing the truth, it was just a compliment. Wells relaxes. "Is it so?"

"Yes, you are the future, Dr. Wells." Cisco's features soften as he runs his hands over the papers like one would a lover. "I would like to see what you see. All the amazing, beautiful things. All the important stuff that seem to be in front of your eyes alone..." He trails off, still deeply engrossed on the papers.

Wells can't help but smile, looking at Cisco murmuring those things with such a sincere voice and such bright eyes. _If only you could see the beautiful thing in front of my eyes now_ , he thinks and the possessive feeling that has been growing in him on the last two years seem to take all his heart for a moment.

\---

He stares at the last entry on his dialy planner: _8pm Dungeon Bell_. Suzan put a link to the place’s website too and he easily found the address there. It is located in an upcoming neighborhood not far from STAR Labs, it wouldn’t take ten minutes to drive there.

Yet he just looks at the appointment and considers wheter to go or not. He’d like to spend sometime with Cisco out of their work place, but he didn’t want to mingle with a handful of his emplyees to do this. He also reflects if this would be appropriate, the last thing he wants is to rise any suspicion about what Cisco really means to him. After long deliberation he decides to show up late and leave early; stay there just long enough for Cisco to know he cares.

At 9:10 he arrives at the place. The pub is on the underground, giving it a hipster atmosphere and justifying the _dungeon_ on the name. The walls are bare, stripped of cememnt and paint, the small solid bricks showing under the industrial lights hanging over the tables. As he descends the stairs he spots a cluster of tables occupied by about 12 of his employees. Curiously, Cisco is not among them. They are all looking at the small stage where a piano is set and someone is starting to play a song Wells doesn’t recognize.

He is still halfway to the table when a voice joins the piano and he understands why everyone is paying such attention to the stage: under the spotlight he can see Cisco playing and singing. Wells stops on his way, amazed by the sight and sound.

Cisco’d told him that his mother made him take piano lessons because of his brother, but Wells had never thought he’d be this good. His posture is relaxed, he seems completely confortable there, his voice is clear and pleasant, his hands precise and light over the old piano keys. As he plays, he sways his body gently, eyes fluttering closed every now and then.

When the song ends, Cisco stands up and smiles shyly, accepting the applause coming not only from their table but from all the costumers on the pub. He is about to hop off the stage when his eyes meet Wells’ and his smile turns even more bashful. Instead of going back to the table, he crosses the pub to meet Wells.

“Dr. Wells, I didn’t know you were coming.” He says, sounding pleasantly surprised.

“I wasn’t sure I’d make it, but now I’m glad I did.” Wells says, fighting the urge to tuck a loose strand of hair behind the younger man’s ear. “You are very talented.”

Cisco smiles and brushes the stray hair away from his face. “Don’t let my mom hear this. She’ll make you listen to Dante’s playing for the rest of your life.” The statement is humorous but Wells is familiar with the underlying bitterness on his voice. “Join us for a drink, will you? I’ll go fetch a chair.” And just like this he is gone, searching for a spare chair.

Wells sits near Cisco, but not by his side, which is appropriate since he doesn’t want to make it look too personal. Suzan and Ronnie sit by his side and he makes casual conversation with them. Soon he learns that Ronnie is crushing on the recently hired biomedic Dr. Snow and he smiles when the structural engineer almost hides under the table when he realizes he’d said it in front of their boss.

It is a week day, so most people start to leave soon after his arrival. By 10 pm the pub is mostly empty and he considers leaving too, his social role fulfiled. Yet, something nags at him and he doesn’t stand to go. He tunes Suzan and Ronnie off and starts to study the whole situation. Then he sees Cisco.

Cisco, who is more than a little tipsy; a collection of long neck beer bottles and colored plastic cups in front of him. His laughter is a bit too loud, his cheeks are pink and his eyes unfocused. The engineer is talking to Day and Webber. Wells’ stomach turn, even more so when he realizes Day is saying her goodnights to them.

Just as she leaves, Webber pulls his chair closer to Cisco and rests his hand over Cisco’s. The inebriated engineer stares at their joined hands like he doesn’t understand what is going on but doesn't particularly like it. Wells remembers the look Cisco gave Webber when he got touchy-feely more than a year ago. The older engineer asks for another beer and puts it in Cisco’s free hand, a predatory look on his eyes.

Wells swallows dryly, anger bubbling on his chest. Webber leans over Cisco and says something before standing up and going to the restroom. Cisco tips the beer back and drinks it all before the other man is back, and he seems completely unfocused and vulnerable as he stands up.

“I’m calling it a night.” Webber says, bringing Cisco close to him with an arm over his shoulders. Once again Cisco looks at the arm as if it had offended him so much he doesn’t know how to react. “I’ll give Cisco a ride, he is a bit too far gone to take the bus.” A sudden rush of wind messes everyone’s hair and they look around for any open doors or vent ways but find none.

Shrugging, they leave. Wells quickly says goodbye to Suzan and Ronnie and casually follows the other two to the parking lot. He sees them just beside Webber’s car, the driver patting his pockets searching for something. “I think I dropped my keys on the restroom. Wait a moment I’ll be back, ok?” Cisco nods sleepily and leans heavily against the silver Toyota.

Wells hides in the shadow as Webber passes him by. With the other man’s keys safe in his pocket, Wells walks up to where Cisco is almost sleeping. “I’ll give you a ride, is that okay, Cisco?” Cisco looks up, a slow smile spreading on his face.

“Would love to ride you, Dr. Wells.” He says with a clumsy wink, almost falling down as he tried to lean away from Webber’s car. Wells rises na eyebrow, surprised by the bold declaration.

“I’m sure you would, but today is only a car ride to your home.” Wells says, wrapping his arm around Cisco’s waist and pulling the younger man’s arm over his shoulder. He looks around and, when he sees they’re alone in the parking lot, he flashes across it and into his car. Cisco doesn’t seem to notice, too drunk and sleepy to question things.

They drive for two blocks before Cisco falls asleep, head pressed to the window, lips parted. Wells knows the way to Cisco’s small apartment and as they park in front of it he is once again lucky to be alone. He runs upstairs with Cisco in his arms, bridal style. He balances the sleeping man in his arms as he opens the door and silently pads across the apartment to Cisco’s room.

He carefully lays Cisco down, taking off his Vans and belt but nothing more. A beep sounds signalling a new message on the sleeping man’s phone. Wells opens it _where r u? – Web._ With a smug smile, he types na answer: _took 2long took a cab – CR_

Satisfied and actually tired, he has the mind to fill a glass of water and leave it over Cisco’s night stand. He closes the door from inside and runs out of the window back to his car. As he drives back to his own place he hums the song Cisco’s played at the piano.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I've been listening to this song non stop for the last two days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3AP-Q91Rc0


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here we are: the chapter that explains the rating on this fic.

“There are many things I could say now. I could talk about sleepless nights studying, and the satisfaction of seeing a project working for the first time, or eating nothing but cup noodles the whole week because cooking and eating take time that could be used working. But I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll say only one thing: I wouldn’t be here alone.” Cisco makes a pause, lets his eyes drift from the audience to the Notorious Student Award in his hand. “Every person that crossed my way, made this day possible. Some in greater measure, some in smaller, but I’m sure if anyone was to be absent, the final result would be totally different.”

Once more he looks at the audience. His family is there, his parentes just beside his brother and grandmother, a small flock of young cousins that were probably bribed into attending the event scatered around them. “I want to... no. I need to thank _you_... all of you for bringing me here.”

Cisco’s mom has tears shimmering in her eyes and a smile on her face. She waves at him and squeezes his father’s hand, and completely ignores the person sitting only two rows behind her. The person whose eyes show much more pride, and whose smile is much more genuine than hers. The person Cisco is crossing eyes with as she thinks he is looking at her.

The professor acting as host takes the podium and Cisco goes back to sitting with his classmates. The ones by his side shake his hand and congratulate him on the award. He thanks them with a bashful smile. One by one, the graduating students are called to receive their certificates and pose for pictures. Due to his last name, Cisco is one of the last to be called. He takes the certificate with a blinding smile and makes a Vulcan salute for the picture.

The Ramon family gathers around Cisco when he goes down the stage, his award held close to his chest. They all talk at the same time, his grandmother using her particular mix of Spanish and English only the relatives could fully understand. “We’re having dinner on your honor tonight, mijo.” His mother says, smiling. “Dante sugested a chinese place, what do you think?”

Cisco thinks he’d rather do anything that wasn’t Dante’s sugestion but he doesn’t say so. He nods and lets his father tow him off the auditorium. As he leaves, he keeps looking around, searching for the one person he wanted to be around that night. He spots Dr. Wells leaning against a wall, their eyes meeting over the sea of heads.

A peculiar kind of telepathy seems to happen. Cisco apologizes for not talking to him; Wells tells him it is fine and that he should enjoy his family. Cisco frowns, meaning a quick drink with Wells would be more pleasant than a whole evening with his relatives; Wells rotates his hand, a promisse that they would have an opportunity to celebrate on other moment. Cisco is finally pulled out of the doors and looses eye contact with Wells.

Turns out the chinese place is very good and Cisco allows himself to truly enjoy the evening. For once in his life he feels important among his relatives and it feels good. He laughs and teaches his grandmother how to use chopsticks. She ends up using them like little spears to slaughter spring rolls and bring them to her mouth. One of his cousins actually learns how to properly use them and Cisco feels a little proud of it.

His father offers to drive him to his appartment but he refuses. It isn’t very late yet and the weather is pleasant. His mother and grandmother kiss both his cheeks and most of the cousins just wave, eyes glued to their phones. He watches his father’s and Dante’s car leave and takes a deep breath of the fresh night air. He is lost on thoughts, waiting for the traffic light to turn green for pedestrians when a car pulled over by his side. The window rolls down and a very welcomed voice calls his name.

“Dr. Wells! What are you doing here?”

“I was having dinner with some of the Institute’s members to celebrate the graduation.” The distinctive click of the door being unlocked sounds. “Get in, this neighbourhood is a bit dangerous at this hour.”

Cisco gets into the car trying to hide his smile. “I thought it was okay to go home walking. Thank you for the ride.”

“It’s a pleasure to give a lift to the Notorious Student.” Cisco snorts a bit. “It was a beautiful speech.” Wells looks at him with eyes so full of pride and joy, Cisco doesn’t know what to do with such a stare directed at him. Wells puts the car back in the lane just as the light turns green.

“The speech was for you.” Cisco suddenly says, eyes glued to a spot between his shoes. Wells smiles softly and when he moves his hand to change the gear, he allows his fingers to brush Cisco’s thigh. “You’ve seen more in me than anyone else, I could work on STAR Labs for free for the rest of my life and I wouldn’t pay back all you did to me.”

They stop at another red light. “This watch is new, isn’t it?” Wells asks, studying Cisco in his formal attire. The young man nods.

“Do you want to hear a funny story about it?” Wells says yes. “My grandmother gave it to me today. Graduation gift. It was the first time ever she gave something to me and nothing to Dante.” Wells frowns.

“What about your birthdays?” He asks, moving the shift stick and once again letting his hand touch Cisco’s leg.

“She didn’t want to make Dante jealous. _He was here first, if we give to you but not him he’ll think we forgot him!_ ” He says in a falsetto that makes Dr. Wells laugh.

“I suppose she has a point but, tonight should be only about you.” There is a weight to his words Cisco almost can’t bear. “Where would you like to go?”

“Your house.” Cisco replies before he can actually think. He feels like a firework someone lit too early on New Years Eve – a loud and bright disturbance out of time and place. As he slowly looks up, ready to apologize and ask to be left in the nearest bus stop, he sees a slow smile growing on Dr. Wells’ face. The kind of smile he gives when Cisco does something good or gives the right answer to one of his questions.

“Couldn’t suggest a better place.” Wells says, changing lanes and turning away from Cisco’s apartment. This time he foregoes the shift stick strategy and simply place a light hand on Cisco’s knee.

Cisco can’t tell how long it took them to get to Dr. Wells’ house. Or the trajectory or the distance or anything at all. His heart is hammering inside his chest and his damn palms are sweating like mad. Dr. Wells opens the car door for him and offers a hand to help him get off it. Cisco takes it by instinct.

Wells guides him into the house. Cisco doesn’t get a good look at the exterior and he just pays any attention to the interior because Dr. Wells asks him a moment to make a call. The older man moves to the hallway and Cisco is left on the foyer, looking at all and any piece of decoration if only to have something to do. As he expected Dr. Wells’ house is big and open, the decoration modern and minimalist. It looks great, specially compared to the chaotic mess of posters, models and action figures that is Cisco’s own small living space.

“Sorry to make you wait, but I assure you it was important.” Wells says as he comes back. He has a sway to his steps that is new. New and very enticing, hips moving in a way that basically forces Cisco’s eyes to follow.

“It is ok. So ok...” Cisco babbles, mouth suddenly very dry. He is saved by his phone, which buzzes loudly. “Oh, sorry, just a sec.” It is a message from Suzan: _Doc just cleared his schedule 4 the morning, said u can come by 2pm tomorrow! Lucky guy ;)_

“Is something wrong?” Wells asks, amused.

“Quite the opposite, it seems like my boss gave me a free morning tomorrow.” Cisco clutches the phone on both hands. Dr. Wells is so, so close right now. The indirect lightning makes him glow with a kind of golden halo and Cisco notices once more how tall he is.

“That is fortunate because I have no plans of letting go of you for the next hours.”

Cisco doesn’t get to reply. Moving swiftly, Dr. Wells leans down and presses his lips to Cisco’s. There is no uncertainty to his gesture, but he doesn’t put much pressure to it. Cisco gets a last glimpse of intense blue eyes before closing his own and deepening the kiss.

The kiss is not awkward, nor is it shy. If not for the wild beating of his heart, Cisco wouldn’t believe it was their first kiss. It feels practiced, natural – maybe a result of spending two long years watching each other so closely. When Wells’ tongue runs on the inseam of Cisco’s lips it doesn’t feel like exploration, feels like reacquaintance.

He is breathless when Wells finally pulls away, his head fuzzy with the intensity of the kiss. Wells runs a hand through his hair, all the way to the points, and back to tuck a fugitive strand behind his ear. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”

“Comb my hair?”

Wells laughs, and the sound is beautiful and sincere. “I was talking about the kiss but, yes, I’ve been wanting to comb your hair with my fingers for quite a while now.”

“You can keep doing it.” Cisco says, leaning closer, resting his hands on Wells’ chest. “Both of it. The kissing and, and the hair thing too.”

Wells cups the back of Cisco’s neck; his fingers purposely messing the black hair. “I have full intention of doing so.” And once again they kiss, deep and consuming; feeding a hunger they’ve been feeling for way too long.

That Harrison Wells is a fit man Cisco is well aware of – how could he not. He doesn’t expect, however, how easy it is for the older man to lift him up. He feels even smaller as he crosses his legs behind Wells’ back and cling to him like he needs it to survive. Wells has one hand holding him by his thigh, the other runs up his body to once again find its place on Cisco’s soft hair.

They kiss all the way to Wells’ room, and don’t stop as the taller man carefully lays Cisco down on his bed. Wells looks at him hungrily and Cisco finds that he likes to be the target of that stare. Cisco shifts on the bed, practically sinking on it and he rolls his shoulder like a satisfied cat. His own eyes take in every detail he can: Wells’ kiss swollen lips, his messy hair, and eyes that are simultaneously bright and dark with desire.

Wells is stradling him now, tall and beautiful against the white ceiling. The older man takes off his shirt in an efficient move that looks sexier than it should. Cisco stares openly, licking his lips. “I can’t believe I’m here.” He mutters just as Wells comes down to kiss him again.

“Why?” His hands start to undo the buttons on Cisco’s formal shirt.

“When you want something too much it feels unreal when you get it.” He leans up to help Wells take the open shirt off his shoulders.

“I suppose I can relate to your feeling.” Wells replies, bending down to press kisses all over Cisco’s chest and neck. The young man squirms, his skin too sensitive, his body too strung. A choked moan leaves his lips as Wells bites at the junction of his neck and shoulder. “Show me more.” Wells half asks, half demands. He stands up again, leaving Cisco on the bed where he is fighting against his belt and trousers.

Wells watches but not idly. His eyes are following Cisco’s every move, his own hands freeing himself of the last of his clothing. When he is finished, Cisco is completely naked in his bed. He sucks in a deep breath; the image much more appealing than he could’ve imagined. Cisco’s skin seem to glow under the warm light, his beautiful body spreading over the white sheets like caramel drizzling over cream.

“You are so beautiful.” Wells says, crawling back into the bed, hovering over Cisco with hunger in his eyes. Cisco blushes but doesn’t avert his eyes, smiling at Wells as if drunk on the man’s presence. As they kiss, the taller man slowly eases his body over Cisco’s smaller frame. Their skin touch and now it feels like a first time. The electricity-like pleasure coursing through his body is new to him. The gentle weight and warmth so different from anything he’d ever felt before. Not to mention the delight that is to feel the exact shape of Wells' erection against his hip and belly. He feels almost feverish.

Without his permission, his hip move in a small circle causing his own hard cock to rub on the soft skin of Wells’ thigh. The older man smiles on their kiss and responds by gyrating his own hips against Cisco’s. A breathless moan slips past their lips and Cisco is only 70% sure he is the one who emitted it. He rolls against Wells once more and this time he thinks the pleasured noise belongs to the other man.

Wells burries a hand on his hair, and uses it to change the angle of the kiss. It is now much more of a breathless slide of lips than an actual kiss. Any technique forgotten as their hips begin to rolls harder and faster. Cisco’s own hands go to Wells’ hair, his nails scratching his scalp and tugging on the short strands.

The muscles on Cisco’s stomach contract, his orgasm coming faster than he intended to. He wants to ask for a reprieve, he wants to make it last. He _can’t_ ask for Wells to stop. Not when the older man get a long hand around both their cocks, and it slides and presses so delightfuly between their sweat slick bodies.

He can’t kiss Wells anymore, kissing takes a lot of breathing and he just can’t waste any of the air he is still managing to inhale. He presses his face to Wells’ neck and shoulder, the scent and taste of the skin there intoxicating him. Wells presses his own face to Cisco’s thick, soft hair; he kisses whatever piece of skin he can reach on this position and breathes heavily when he can find none.

It takes too long, but it is also too soon, when Cisco mewls and comes. His whole body stutters, like an overworked engine, and he clings to Wells with whatever strenght he’s got left. The added slickness of his cum makes Wells’ hand slide even faster and smoother. Cisco feels the best kind of exhaustion begin to overtake him.

Wells comes silently, pressing so close it feels like he wants to fuse with Cisco. Cisco’s hair cling to Wells’ open lips and sweaty face but he couldn’t care less. It takes him a few moments and some deep breaths to find the strenght to move away from Cisco.

They lay side by side, silently looking at each other. Cisco’s eyes are half lidded, his hair a complete mess, his lips more appealing than ever. Wells doesn’t resist them and gives him the softest kiss of the night. The young man humms, contently, as his lover brings him closer. “Will this happen again?” He can’t help but ask.

“I did give you the morning off tomorrow, didn’t I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come see me fangirling over The Flash, Hamilton, Star Wars and some other nerd shit at: http://burn-gormans-eyelashes.tumblr.com/


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If I was naming the chapters on this fic, this one would be called cK's super self indulgent smut story.  
> Enjoy.

Cisco wakes up to the feeling of fingers running through his hair. Very gently, stopping at times to resume shortly after. He hums in satisfaction and slowly opens his eyes to find Wells looking at him with soft, soft eyes. 

"Did I wake you?" The older man asks, stopping the caress on Cisco's hair. 

"Maybe... don't know" Cisco replies, a bit groggy. He pushes his head against Wells' idle hand. "Don't stop." Wells smiles and his hand runs down Cisco's hair once more, carefully unravelling any knots. "What time is it?" 

"Still nighttime," Wells answers, looking at the bedside clock. "Barely two in the morning." 

"Best thing..." Cisco murmurs and Wells makes a questioning noise. "Waking up in the middle of the night and finding out you can still sleep for hours and hours. Best thing." 

With a small laugh Wells rolls over, pressing his open palms beside Cisco's head and looking down at him with malice. "We do have hours, may I interest you on something else other than sleep?" 

Cisco doesn't say anything, he just arches his body up reaching for Harrison with a sly smile of his own. They're smiling in their kiss, and Wells keeps playing with Cisco's hair, occasionally using his grip on the black strands to angle Cisco's head back and start a slow trail of kisses down the younger man's neck. 

Harrison is thorough in his exploration, using the privileged position to reach every piece of Cisco's throat and jaw. He kisses behind his ears and bites at the lobes, just enough to get a tiny noise out of his lover. Slowly he leaves kisses and love bites all the way to Cisco's collar bones - to which he pays a lot of attention. 

Cisco feels lost in time and space, Harrison's touches his anchors to reality. The mattress and bedsheets are almost too soft, the air warm with stuttered breaths and quiet words of praise, Harrison's body too solid and real for this to be a dream. 

After a million years, or just some minutes, Wells is kneeling at the end of the bed, Cisco's legs opened before him. He kisses the young man's calves and the arch of his feet, his hands caressing soft brown skin with so much care Cisco begins to question if he was breakable and had been unaware of the fact his whole life. 

When Harrison reaches Cisco's thighs he plans on spending another countless minutes there but as soon as his lips touch the inside in a gentle kiss, hands slide into his hair and tug urgently. Looking up he sees Cisco's face, not even pink anymore but a deep red, his lips are plump and bitten, his eyes shiny. "Please Dr. Wells." He pleads. 

Wells bites the patch of skin he'd just kissed. "Dr. Wells?" He echoes, and Cisco can't tell if he is more amused or bothered by the fact that he is still using Wells' title. "Call me by my name." 

"Please Harrison..." Somehow calling him just Harrison feels almost as intimate as having the man between his naked thighs. Harrison watches him for a second, and Cisco's probably mistaken but the man looks bitter for the briefest moment before smiling fully at him. 

With feline grace, Harrison slides up again and kisses Cisco, hard and overwhelming. As they kiss, he reaches for the bedside stand and takes the lube and a pack of condoms. Cisco hooks his legs up Harrison's hips, giving the older man plenty of room to prep him. 

Harrison's fingers are gentle and light, opposed to the fierce movements of his lips against Cisco's. He takes his time, making sure that three of his fingers are sliding smooth and painlessly before leaning back on his haunches and looking down at Cisco. 

"How do you want to do it?" Harrison asks, tearing the package open and unrolling the condom with practiced ease. 

"I don't know..." Cisco says quickly, then he adds, hesitant. "This is the first time I do it like this." 

Harrison raises an eyebrow. "With a man?" 

"With someone I actually like..." Cisco turns his face, hiding it in the pillow, making his voice come out muffled but still comprehensible. 

Wells feels the walls around his heart crumble a little more. It is true that this world is filled with idiots but how come no one before him noticed the treasure that is Cisco Ramon? Leaning down, he kisses the exposed side of Cisco's face, slowly coaxing him to look up again. "Let me see your face." He asks tenderly, nuzzling Cisco's jaw and caressing the legs that were still loosely wrapped around his waist. 

Cisco reaches up to embrace Harrison, and nods slowly, eyes never leaving Wells'. "Like this, then." He tightens his legs around Harrison's hips and pulls him a little closer. 

Getting the hint, Harrison reaches down to align his cock to the slick entrance of Cisco's body. He allows Cisco to dictate the rhythm of his slide, moving only when the younger man forced him with his surprisingly strong legs. 

They set a rhythm together, always kissing and never averting their eyes. The world around shuts off completely and there is just the deep, powerful rolling of their bodies together, the slow and continuous building of pleasure. Harrison's hand slides down to find Cisco's erection already wet with precum and sweat. 

Cisco's eyelids tremble when he blinks, and each time it takes him longer and longer to open his eyes again. Finally the whole experience reaches its peak and Cisco's eyelashes cast a soft shadow over his cheekbones when he screws his eyes shut and moans his orgasm in broken notes. 

It is the most beautiful thing Harrison had ever seen. The way Cisco comes with his whole body, not even a muscle lax, all a tight coil of pleasure that he is proud to be the one winding. He is not far himself, a few more long thrusts into that clenching heat is all it takes for him. His own pleasure doesn't take his attention away from the way Cisco is now making soft sounds, probably sensitive and tired but still offering Wells everything he got. 

He kisses Cisco's closed eyes when he pulls off and away. "You are so beautiful." He says softly and Cisco just hums in response. When he tries to stand up to get rid of the used condom Cisco doesn't let him go, clinging to him with arms heavy with satisfaction and sleep. 

"Clean up later..." Wells smiles, amused, but doesn't move any further. He waits a moment and when Cisco's breath evens out he zooms out of the bedroom to dispose of the condom and get a wet towel. Cleaning is made difficult by the way Cisco is lying on his side but he gets most of the cum off with gentle swipes of the towel. He slides back into the bed not 30 seconds after he leaves it and Cisco just nuzzles back into their previous position when he puts an arm around the young man's back. 

Sleep is not something that comes easily to him, but Cisco's warmth and the soft rhythm of his breath quickly lull him into a pleasant slumber. 

 

___ 

 

When Harrison wakes up the sun is filtering through the shades, and the bed by his side is empty. Sitting up he looks at the clock: ten in the morning. It is still early to leave to work since he called the morning off. He stands up and picks a pair of pajama bottoms from the dresser, satisfied to see that despite Cisco's absence his trousers and shirt are still scattered across the room. 

He checks the en-suite bathroom but there is no signs of Cisco there. Slowly he makes his way to the kitchen, the next best option to find his missing lover. 

In the corridor, a few feet away from the kitchen door he begins to listen the soft clanging and clicking of someone cooking, accompanied by a low humming of song. He approaches silently and stops at the threshold, where he can see Cisco fully focused on whatever he is doing over the stove. 

The young man is wearing Harrison's shirt - the one he'd been wearing the previous night. It is a bit long on him but endearingly so, it shows Cisco's beautiful legs and his boxer briefs. Harrison has to fight the urge to laugh when he notices the periodic table printed across Cisco's rear. 

The owner of the house stays there in silence a little longer, just watching the young man cooking and singing to himself. Harrison recognizes the song as the one Cisco sang at the pub a few weeks before. "Never got to ask you what song is this." He says, finally entering the kitchen. 

Cisco's reaction is out of a comic cartoon. He spins around with wide eyes, a spatula on one hand and a mixing bowl on the other; a white flour handprint on the bottom of the shirt. "Werrrison. Harrison!" He blushes and splutters, looking down at his feet in shame. 

"Are you making me breakfast?" Harrison asks, getting close enough to see the pile of pancakes stacked over the stove. 

"Yes... oh my I went full rom-com here didn't I?" Cisco takes a step back, placing the bowl and the spatula over the sink before nervously trying to clean the flour off the shirt. "Sorry this is, uhg I don't... I'm sorry I shouldn't have assumed you..." Harrison stops him with a gentle touch to his cheek. 

"Cisco, what happened last night?" His voice is gentle but firm, Cisco looks up at him confused, almost hurt. "I don't know what that meant to you, but it was more than sex for me. I apologize if I couldn't express it properly." 

Very slowly Cisco leans over him, hiding his face and placing light hands on Harrison's exposed hips. "It meant a lot to me." He makes a small sniffling sound and Wells pulls him closer in a hug. "A lot..." 

"Good. Are you calmer now?" Cisco nods shortly, slowly pulling away to face Harrison again. "At last, good morning." Wells leans down to kiss the corner of Cisco's lips, making the young man giggle a little. 

"Good morning. Do you want pancakes?" 

"Absolutely." Harrison replies, retrieving plates and cutlery from the cabinets. As Cisco finishes making breakfast he sets the table. "I didn't remember I had pancake mix." 

"You didn't." Cisco says, turning the stove off and moving the pancakes to the table. "But there was flour and eggs, and soy milk? I think it will work just fine." 

Cisco waits for Harrison to take the first bite. The older man makes a show of it, slowly drizzling syrup over the steamy pancake on his plate. He finally eats it and makes a small appreciative noise when swallowing it. "It worked perfectly fine I must say. This is very good Cisco." 

"Thanks. I mean, thanks for everything." Harrison smiles in reply and his hand finds Cisco's and gently squeezes it. 

They talk little while eating, most of the meal is spend in companionable silence. Harrison is almost finishing his plate when he clears his throat and asks. "Do you want to drop by your place before going to the lab?" 

"Yeah, sure. Yesterday's clothes are a big no in workplace etiquette." 

Harrison nods in agreement and takes a sip of his orange juice before speaking again. "Do you want me to drive you there?" Much to his surprise Cisco shakes his head in a negative. 

"There are some STAR Labs employees living nearby, one in the same building as me. I don't want anyone to see you there, or to recognize your car or anything like this." 

Harrison is taken aback by such consideration. He silently berates himself for not thinking about it before questioning. He debates the whole scenario in his faster-than-light mind and reaches the conclusion that maybe he doesn't care so much if people found out about Cisco and him. He would be protected by his position and money anyway and he feels deep down that Cisco would never turn it against him. "I wouldn't mind the risk." 

"I would." Cisco replies, assertive. "I don't want people to think I've got where I am because I'm with you." He doesn't meet Harrison's eyes, focusing on sliding his last piece of pancake across the puddle of syrup at the bottom of the plate. "Being with you would be terrible for me work-wise, it would undermine my authority and make people question my value and skills." 

The silence that follows his words is heavy but brief. "You've been thinking about it since you woke up." Harrison speaks with a note of admiration in his voice. Cisco nods, bits of hair falling over his face. "I'm sorry I didn't think of it under your perspective; you are completely right." 

"Also, I feel like I could be much more useful for you this way." Harrison rises and enquiring eyebrow at this. "Other employees trust me with their doubts and problems because they know I'm close to you but still on _their side_. If they saw me as a part of you they wouldn't trust me. It is more productive to be perceived as one of them." 

Harrison just smiles at this. He briefly wonders if Cisco would be this loyal to anyone else, had he not been the first to take the boy for himself. He likes to think that no, this Cisco is as much his creation as the young man's own. "Let me at least get you a taxi." 

Cisco grins. "That I can't refuse.”

It is a little past noon when Cisco leaves Harrison's house. Before departing Wells kisses him deep and sweetly, whispering a _see you later_ against moist lips.

Arriving at his apartment feels a little depressing after spending the night in Harrison's house. He takes a shower and dresses in a fresh pair of jeans and a Star Trek shirt that he's particularly fond of.

As usual, he rides the bus to work and greets everyone with a radiant smile as he makes his way to Dr. Wells' office. “Good morning, Suzan.”

“Good morning, Cisco.” She replies with a smile. “Did you enjoy your morning off?”

“You have no idea.” He says, conspirational, and she laughs.

“Well, I believe you’re double lucky today.”

“Is it so?” He asks, already reaching for the door leading to Dr. Wells office.

“Yes, I don't know why Dr. Wells cleared his schedule today but it certainly was good for him.” Cisco rises his eyebrows, a curious expression on his face. “He is in a very good humor.”

“Well, I sure as hell hope it will happen again.” He says over his shoulder, winking at her as he finally enter the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lets delve a little deeper in the whole villain thing, shall we? This week's episode gave me ALL the ReverseVibe feels and I needed to write a darker scene showcasing Cisco's devotion and sadism.

"You seem concerned." Wells says as he watches Cisco twist a piece of hair between nervous fingers. 

"Not concerned, actually." The younger man replies, folding his hands over his lap. "More like... apprehensive." 

"And why is it?" Wells inquiries, sliding into bed by Cisco's side. This has become their habit, Cisco sleeping in Harrison's house many times a week, always careful to go to his own place after work, give his apartment the feeling of someone living there, before sneaking to a hidden alley a few blocks away where Harrison would pick him up. 

"There is something I need to do." Cisco explains, leaning against Harrison's side. "Do you remember Jefferson from biomechanics?" Harrison looks puzzled but nods. "He's been stealing from you." 

Harrison shifts so he is looking straight at Cisco's face. "How? Did he get any equipment?" 

"No, he's been stealing info from the main server." Cisco runs his fingers down his hair, making some of it fall over his face. Immediately, Harrison brushes those stray locks away and rises an eyebrow, prompting Cisco to continue speaking. "About two months ago he asked me to open the files to the Atlas project and I did, he got whatever he wanted - it was just some very basic information to use on Atlas II. But he had a spyware installed on the computer and stole my password." 

Cisco looks genuinely distressed after admitting that he gave Jefferson the password to the mainframe. Harrison knows how much Cisco prizes and cares for everything made by STAR Labs, if only because he sees every piece of technology developed there as Harrison's belonging. "Have he been smuggling info since then?" 

"Yes and no. I've found it out three or four days later and placed a fake server up, he's been stealing wrong information ever since." 

"That was clever." Harrison compliments, Cisco scoffs. 

"Thanks, but it's not enough. He may not be doing any real damage anymore but I can't let it go like this." 

"I'll ask the juridic department to handle this." 

"No, please." Cisco sits up a little higher, placing his hands on Harrison's shoulders. "I feel responsible for this, let me deal with it." 

Harrison considers this for a moment. Cisco has known about it for almost two months but didn't say anything before, on the other hand, he did damage containing quickly and efficiently. If he's brought it up now, it is because whatever he's been planning to do is finally ready to be done. "I believe you'll have this nuisance dealt with by tomorrow, then?" 

Cisco nods firmly and kisses Wells with a touch of gratefulness. Harrison accepts the kiss and the gratitude, as he would anything Cisco offers him. 

 

\-- 

 

Wells is glad for the cameras installed all over STAR Labs, they make it easy to follow Cisco through the day. His assistant had promised to take care of Jefferson by the end of the evening so when 7 pm rings and he stands up with a resolute look on his face, Wells knows he should stop everything else and give it his attention. 

He asks Suzan to hold any calls or visitors and focus on the image from the small biomechanics laboratory. The room in question is furnished with only a desktop terminal, a centrifuge and a small 3D printer over a white table. Wells puts his own surveillance system online as well, since he wants to hear the confrontation and the laboratory camera is visual only. He plugs his earphones and turns the audio feed on. 

The man inside the room, Jefferson, is nervously working at the computer. Every now and then he glances around, looking over his shoulder and in the direction of the door. After about five boring minutes watching Jefferson, finally the door opens making the man jump in place and turn around fast enough to tip his chair. 

Wells smiles when Cisco's head pokes through the opening. "Oh, Cisco its you..." Jefferson says, clearly relieved. Wells grins - the poor man has no idea what's in store for him. Objectively, neither does Wells but he knows that reckoning is coming in the form of a smiling Cisco. 

"Hi Jef, I'm glad I got you still here." Cisco slips into the lab, closing the door behind him. He has a duffle bag with the STAR Labs logo printed on it slung over his shoulder, and his hair up in a messy bun. 

"I thought your shift ended at five." Jefferson observes, turning the swiveling chair around to properly face Cisco. 

"It did." Cisco admits, placing the bag on the white table. "But I got carried away in a project and forgot to leave." He laughs easily and Jefferson laughs too. Wells can't help but admire how easy it is for Cisco to make people feel comfortable around him. "So, I just finished a really sweet project and I wanted to show you, do you have some time?" 

"Sure, bring it on." Jefferson stands up and comes a little closer as Cisco opens the bag. "So, what is it?" His voice is polite curiosity, but his eyes shine with greed. Wells sneers at  the image. 

"No spoilers, man." Cisco dismisses humorously, taking what looked like a robust pen from the bag and attaching it to a thick silicone tube. There is a cylindrical box still inside the bag and Cisco leaves it there, just pulls the bag down around it to properly attach the tube to one side of it. "I need a target... are you too attached to that mug?" Cisco asks, pointing to a regular white STAR Labs mug still steaming with coffee. Jefferson shakes his head and brings the mug to the center of the table and away from his computer. 

Cisco presses some buttons on the cylinder and a low humm fills the audio feed, Wells lifts an eyebrow, expectant. Jefferson leans a bit closer watching as Cisco turns a dial on the pen-like part in his hand. "So, bear in mind that this is a prototype, ok? It is still rough and not very potent, and also big and kinda ugly but if this test succeeds I'll show it to Dr. Wells and ask him to put it in the official developing line schedule." 

With this words, Cisco presses a small switch on the pen and the humm intensifies. He points the apparatus to the mug at the center of the table and suddenly a thin, oscilant beam of bluish white light crosses the room, hitting the mug. For a few seconds nothing happens, and Jefferson seems about to enquiry what was supposed to go on when a very thin layer of frost begins to quickly cover the mug. The man's eyes widen a bit. 

With increasing velocity the frost covers the entire mug, and grows thicker by the second. Jefferson's jaw is open, he leans over the table to get a closer look at the now completely frozen mug. The layer of frost continues expanding, crawling over the table top and finally creeping over Jefferson's fingers. He yelps in pain and pulls back, cradling the cold hand against his chest. "Take care!" He says, bitterly. 

"Oh, sorry, I was too focused on the mug..." Cisco says, turning the switch back off. His voice holds no warmth or regret, which makes Jefferson look at him with a concerned expression. Wells grins at the monitor. "It probably just cooled the skin a bit, not even close to frostbite. As I said, it is a prototype. With proper development it could do a lot more" 

Jefferson frowns deeply and looks at the tips of his fingers. They certainly aren't frostbitten but the skin is red and sore like its been soaked in cold water for a long time, not just a second or so. "Could've hurt my hand..." He murmurs to himself. 

"That would be unfortunate." Cisco replies, turning the dial on the pen a few notches. "Ok, now for the real test." He points the pen back at the mug and the beam of light is much thicker and direct. When it hits the mug, a pungent smell fills the air and the sound of crackling ceramic echoes above the humming of the engine. In less than five seconds the mug explodes in tiny, tiny pieces. The coffee that was inside it actually turned into a stinky petrified goo. "Brilliant..." Cisco says under his breath. 

Jefferson instinctively brings his hand closer to his chest. "That is a lot more powerful than you made me think it was..." 

"It can be much more, I believe with proper parts and material, I could get rid of a body with it." He throws a meaningful look at Jefferson, who instantly pale. 

"Wha, what do you mean?" The man takes a step back, his knees hitting the edge of the chair and making him fall seated upon it. 

"I'm meaning taking things to their full potential, of course it was just an example." Cisco turns the machine off completely and starts disassembling it. "Do you think Dr. Wells will approve of it?" 

Jefferson blinks slowly, taking a few seconds just looking at Cisco before sighing and speaking. "You are unbelievable." Cisco rises both eyebrows, questioningly. "You created groundbreaking technology and you're waiting for his approval, for his blessing, I don't know. You could sell it to anyone for whatever price you want but still you want to _give_ it to him." 

Wells perches on his chair, getting closer to the screen, his breath suddenly held. Jefferson had taken this in a direction he, and probably Cisco, hadn't anticipated. He licks his lips, waiting for Cisco's response. 

"This project, and absolutely everything in this lab, exists because of Dr. Wells." Cisco begins, very controlled. "He showed me the initial concept for this machine, he gave me the resources and tools, he offered me time to use his facility, he's been backing me up, trusting me and encouraging me even before I got a degree. Everything I create, everything I do, everything I am, I owe him and I sincerely don't expect someone low and cheap like you to understand it." 

Jefferson stands up, hands curled into fists. "Shut up! You think you're so special just because you're his assistant. He would kick you out of here as easily as he would anyone else." 

"Oh no, you're wrong. It would be immensely easier for him to kick an ordinary little spy like you out than to get rid of me." Jefferson seems surprised by Cisco's accusation but he recovers quickly. 

"So this is what all of this is about." He sneers, assuming a more relaxed but still aggressive stance. "You're pissed because because of you I could steal industrial secrets from your precious Dr. Wells." His voice drips with sarcasm, his lips curled into an ugly smile. "You know what, Wells doesn't need to fire me, I don't need to subject to him anymore. I've gotten enough of his projects to make myself a wealthy man." 

"Did you, really?" Cisco studies the silicone tube still in his hands for a while, before looking up at Jefferson with satisfaction in his voice. Wells sees the trap now traced around Jefferson, and it fills him with twisted pride and joy. Cisco is full of the same stuff as himself, he thinks, liking his lips. 

"I had two months, Cisco, and you know the best part? I was using your password! If any enquiries happen you will be found guilty!" He starts laughing, and Cisco thinks he looks like a poorly written comic villain in that moment. 

"But did you check the veracity of your stolen data?" Cisco asks softly, placing the pen pointer and the silicone tube back into the bag. "I hope whoever buys your projects doesn't care for accuracy or making actual stuff." 

Jefferson stops laughing, his eyes narrowing to slits, eyebrows furrowing. "What did you do?" 

"I found your scheme early, _Jef_. I've been feeding you wrong information ever since. I'm afraid not a single one of the projects you stole is functional." Cisco takes a moment to smirk, pulling the hair tie off and letting his hair fall down. "And the best part is, you were accessing a fake server, you don't have anything against me." 

Cisco is reveling in the stunned expression on Jefferson's face. The man goes pale, mouth slightly agape for a moment, eyes going glazed; then, all too fast, his face turns red and he lurches in Cisco's direction. Jefferson's fist connects with Cisco's jaw, sending him reeling backwards in a flurry of black hair. The taste of iron suddenly fills Cisco's mouth. 

Jefferson looms over Cisco, he grabs the young engineer by the front of his shirt and pulls his other hand back, ready for another swing. Cisco smiles, his bottom lip split, his teeth tinted pink. "And now I have filmed evidence of you hitting me for absolutely no reason..." 

Wells grins, full of teeth, at the scene playing in front of him. Cisco's loyalty for him had never been in question but seeing, first hand, the lengths he'll go to ensure it is a powerful experience. This whole trap had been so carefully crafted, from the choice of place to the time to the words. Everything so that Jefferson would have no choice but to leave completely empty-handed and defeated; Wells and STAR Labs preserved. 

On the small room, the floor is covered in tiny splinters of ceramic, the air heavy with the sound of Jefferson's teeth grinding. He lets go of Cisco's shirt and steps back, a vein popping on his neck. "What do you want?" 

"Leave, first thing tomorrow morning as soon as HR are here. I don't care what you tell them, just say you're leaving and don't want nor need nor deserve anything more from here." Cisco's tone is as cold as the frost covered table top. 

Jefferson doesn't say another word. He just storms past Cisco, his steps hard and loud on the polished floor. The door closes behind him leaving Cisco alone in the room. The young man waits for a moment and then curses loudly, touching his split lip with shaking fingertips. He slumps down on the chair for a moment, overwhelmed by emotion. 

Wells watches him for minutes on end, a delighted smile on his lips, eyes lit with fiery pride and love. Cisco didn't have anything to prove to him and yet he does. He remembers Cisco's words from just a few minutes ago: _everything I am I owe him_. Cisco sees himself as something Wells made and while there is truth to this notion, now more than ever, Wells sees Cisco as his equal. 

He turns both his personal network and the security system off and stand up. His whole body literally vibrating with emotion, his heart sounding like hummingbird wings. Cisco trusts him with everything he's got; it is time for him to do the same. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

"Cisco how well do you know me?" Harrison asks as the younger man enters the room. Cisco raises an eyebrow. 

"Pretty well, I'd say. If not before certainly now I know you inside out." The engineer says, wiggling his eyebrows. 

Harrison rolls his eyes. "Not my personality and character, that you know better than about everyone on this Earth." The older man opens his arms, inviting Cisco to lay by his side. "I mean, how well do you know my story? My life." 

"The first time I heard about you was when your first interview for the Keystone Science Journal came. I printed it on a huge sheet of paper and taped it to my wall." 

Harrison frowns. "But this was many years ago. Weren't you, I don't know, eight? 

"I was almost ten." Cisco corrects, righteously. "And I never claimed to be a conventional child." 

"That is flattering, you know?" 

"From this new perspective of my life it seems a bit creepy. I feel like I was an underaged stalker..." Harrison laughs and Cisco hides his smiling face. "I had a plastic folder filled with paper cuts of your interviews, speeches and about anything with your name and picture I could put my hands on. I had other for other scientists too, I must say just to not sound too creepy. Christina McGee's was full too but yours was the biggest." 

Harrison runs his fingertips down Cisco's hair. He'd never grow tired of this little privilege. "What if I told you that a lot of those paper news weren't about me, but someone else." 

Cisco shifts, looks down at him with a confused curl to his eyebrows. "What do you mean? I'm pretty sure they were about you. Or is this a _I'm a different man now_ thing?" 

Harrison snorts. "You might say so." He lets the silence stretch, Cisco growing restless with it. "You once said I don't look like a man from this time. You called me a man from the future." Cisco nods. 

"It is only an expression, but you know it." 

"What if, in this case, it is not only an expression?" 

Cisco stares, unblinking for a long while. Slowly he lowers his lids, eyelashes trembling, a small furrow between his eyebrows. " _What_?" He squeaks at last. 

"Did you watch Star Trek: Voyage Home?" Harrison enquiries. 

"Ok, two things." Cisco says, holding out two fingers and sitting up higher in the bed so he could look Harrison on the eyes. "First, this conversation just took a very unexpected turn. Second, of course I've seen it and I'm shocked you even had to ask." 

"Sorry, should have known better." Harrison rises apologetic hands. "Do you remember how Captain Kirk brought the Enterprise and its crew to the past?" 

"They sling shot around the Sun and used the gravitational pull to gather enough energy and speed to reach almost warp 10. This allowed them to disrupt the time continuum and go to the past. Are you asking for my trekker ID?" 

"Not at all. So, what do you say about the movie's science?" 

"Not completely bullshit? I mean, they simplified it a lot in order to reach the audience and made it sound very fancy but it has a solid base. And by solid I mean completely theoretical but supported by enough scientists to make it solid...?" 

"It is true." Harrison affirms, seriously. A beat of silence. 

"Are you Starfleet?" Cisco asks, eyes growing wide. 

Harrison fights the urge to smother Cisco with kisses. It is unfair how ridiculous and cute he can be sometimes. "No Cisco, I'm not Starfleet." 

"Has it-" 

"No, it hasn't been created." Cisco frowns. 

"I'm sorry, is this a test?" Cisco shifts on the bed, feeling oddly lost at a place he considered home. "We know time travelling is impossible. At least at this moment." 

"But isn't time travel, by its own nature, simultaneously invented in every period of time?" 

Cisco tilts his head, mouth a little agape. He shakes it briefly, black hair flurrying around his shoulders. "You're confusing me." He admits in a small voice, as an afterthought he adds with a bit of hope. "Do you have a spaceship at least?" 

"Unfortunately no. Although they have evolved a lot and space travel is, if not exactly common, at least not as rare as it is now." 

"Ok, at least one thing about the future makes sense..." Cisco murmurs, twisting the corner of his pillowcase nervously. "If you don't have a ship, how did you come here?" 

"Use your imagination." Harrison prompts, enigmatic smile on his face. 

"Have you used a wormhole?" 

"No, if I had I'd use the 2009 reboot and not Voyage Home as an example." 

"Makes sense." Cisco nods curtly. "So you reached _warp speed_ without a spaceship and a friendly push from the Sun." Harrison nods. 

Cisco remains silent for a long while. Every once in a while he'd rise a finger as if explaining something only to frown and lower it without saying a word. This goes on for many minutes until he finally looks at Harrison with an uncertain expression on his face. 

"I'm sorry, I don't know." He sounds genuinely frustrated and Harrison wants to cradle him in his arms. "I don't have any standard to base this guess upon, and I'm sure using this year's technology as a paragon would be useless." 

"This century's technology." Harrison corrects and Cisco's face show mild surprise. "I'll give you a hint: I came on foot." 

Cisco snorts. "Ok, _this_ is impossible." 

"And yet I affirm you that's exactly what happened." Harrison tells, looking right into Cisco's dark eyes. He is solemn despite being shirtless, hair messy from sleep. 

"But..." 

"Have I ever lied to you?" 

Cisco averts his eyes. "No. But it is... so hard to believe. So difficult to conceive. You'd have to be the fastest living organism in the universe. Even if you had some high tech augmentation it would be..." He hesitates, "impossible." 

"Think of a person who can run fast, faster than the eye could see. A person who could break the sound barrier is as easily as breathing. What would this person be like?" 

"Assuming this is a natural state of this person, they would be very fit, incredible metabolism to both provide the energy for running and to repair damage the high speed would cause on their body." 

Harrison smiles and nods slowly. "What about their brain?" 

"To operate at this velocity they'd have to be incredibly aware, witted and smart. Otherwise they'd lack control of their speed." This kind of hypothetical question Cisco can handle. 

"Perfect." Harrison praises making Cisco smile bashfully. "Anything else?" 

"Heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature would be higher than usual to maintain this accelerated metabolism running..." Cisco shivers, memories of believing Harrison to be sick because of how hot he usually is, flashes of the older man catching things mid-fall with incredible reflexes. He remembers countless times Harrison got incredibly close incredibly fast, and once that he arrived on the other side of the lab in the literal blink of an eye. His head reels. 

He remembers the projects Harrison had shown him for his second anniversary at STAR Labs. The very reason he called Dr. Wells a man from the future. He had studied them time and time again and most of them still look fictitious, the kind of breakthrough only blessed geniuses can have. Or men from the future. 

"Do you see it now?" Harrison's voice is soft, expecting. 

Cisco chokes on his answer. Harrison doesn't lie, not to him. And this would be so amazing, the kind of plot twist he had always dreamed for his life. He can't help but think that if a man from the future saw something worth on him it must mean he might have good things to offer after all. He wants to believe it so bad. 

"How?" He rasps, helpless. 

"There are many things unknown on this century, some of them have been studied by my time." Harrison explains, risking to take Cisco's hand into his own. The younger man weakly squeezes their fingers together. "One of those things is the Speed Force." 

"Now you're Star Warsing me..." Cisco says, a pale hint of his usual humor showing. 

Harrison smiles. "The Speed Force exist on the universe and some people gain the ability to tap into it and use it on their favor. It is something on our DNA, usually triggered by an external event. Once you get in touch with it, you can perfect your use of it and eventually reach a paradox speed and skip into other periods of time." 

"It makes you run fast enough to break light barrier?" 

"No! That would mean the end of the world, at least for me. Traveling at the speed of light gives you eternity, unfortunately it doesn't do it for the rest of the universe." 

Cisco nods. "But it allows you to go fast enough to go back in time." 

"Exactly." Harrison smiles, a very fond, very small smile. 

Cisco remains silent. He shifts a bit, his gaze lost on the dancing flecks of dust in the air. Harrison doesn't say anything either. He can almost see this new concept taking place into Cisco's vision of the universe. He can't even imagine how disorienting it might be, if not because these notions were taught to him at college, than because this has been his reality for more than ten years. All things considered Cisco is taking it well enough, he doesn't want to force things anymore than necessary. 

The silence takes the room for long minutes. Harrison is lost, watching a small strand of Cisco's hair slowly fall from behind his ear. 

"Who are you?" 

A sharp intake of breath. 

"My name is Eobard Thawne. I was born more than a hundred years in the future and came to this era to right a wrong but got stuck here." He picks a loose thread on the bed sheet and rip it away angrily, Cisco frowns. 

"What about the Speed Force?" 

"I overused it." Harrison, no, _Eobard_ , flicks the piece of thread away and turns his full attention back at Cisco. "Unfortunately my plans didn't go through as I imagined and my connection with it has been severely damaged. I can still tap into it but, if you think of it as gas, I'm currently running on fumes and not on the actual thing anymore." 

Cisco smirks. "Car metaphor, this I can understand." Once again the room falls silent. Cisco's hand is still in Eobard's and it feels exactly the same as it had always felt but also so completely different. "Why did you come?" It's the only question he can think of that would allow him to regain some sense of normalcy. Knowing the reason behind things is essential to his work after all. 

"There is a man in the future. More than a man actually, a legend, a myth. He was blessed with the Speed Force and used it to become the first superhero mankind'd ever seen." Cisco can't identify all the small nuances on Eobard's familiar voice. There is worshipfulness there, but also a sort of bitterness that is hard to reconcile with the words spoken. 

"This man became one of the founding fathers of the new world and I have devoted my life to him. I have studied him, read and watched everything available. I saw so much of myself in him I did what I could to be closer and closer to him." Eobard pauses, studies Cisco's face for a moment and finally continues. "I found out how he got his powers and duplicated the incident. Suddenly I was blessed just like him." 

Cisco is hooked to every one of his words. The younger man is leaning forward, clutching Eobard's hand between his both in an anxious but excited grip. Eobard runs a thumb over the back of those tense hands. 

"I tried to be like him but it was impossible. He casted a shadow so long, so dark, it was impossible for me to shine through it." Cisco's breath hiccups a bit at this, a painful twist on his face making it clear how deeply he could empathize with Eobard's plight. "Whatever I did, it was never good enough. It didn't matter that I was faster than him, smarter than him, _better_ than him; I simply wasn't The Flash." The name is a bitter hiss on his lips. 

"And so you came to take his place?" Cisco prompts as Eobard pulls him closer, fitting the younger man under his arm. 

"I came to kill him." Eobard feels Cisco tense minutely against his body. "Erase him from history before he became a legend. Extinguish his shadow before it could befall me and guarantee the fulfilment of my own potential." 

"Did you do it?" Cisco asks, voice small. He is tense but Eobard realizes he is not afraid. 

"I couldn't.  I've planned to kill him as a child, cut the problem from the root, but I was not the only time traveler there that night. An adult, powerful and enraged version of him was there and we fought. At last he escaped and saved his younger self too; blind with fury I killed his mother." He hesitates, presses his face to Cisco's hair and just breathes the familiar smell for a moment. "I never meant to hurt anyone but him, but I was so frustrated, so angry! Unfortunately as I tried to go back after that, I was unable to channel the Speed Force. His presence had once again robbed me of my destiny, and I found myself marooned on this time." 

"Why are you telling me all this?" Cisco finally asks. He spits the words with so little grace it feels like the words were poison he needed to get rid of. 

"Because you didn't ask proof." Eobard replies with finality. Cisco frowns in confusion, the shape of his expression pressing against the delicate skin of Eobard's torso. "I have told you something that should be impossible by all means, and yet, you believe me and don't even ask for proof. I've known you for years Cisco, and every and each day you showed me trust, loyalty and respect; it is only fair that I do the same to you." 

Cisco turns his head up, making eye contact with Eobard. He knows that face, knows how every emotion play on those features but now it feels like the first time he is actually looking at it. 

"Where is he?" 

"Here in Central City, studying to be a forensic scientist." The simplicity of the statement sounds in odd with the rest of their conversation. 

"Why didn't you try to kill him again?" 

"I need him. Stranded here I have no choice but to have him send us home." 

"Us?" Cisco perks up, a senseless hope shining through his voice. 

"If you want, of course." Eobard replies, diplomatically. "Numerous times living in this century has proved to be so difficult, so different from what I knew before. And still, all I have to do to get back is almost as difficult; after so many years it is hard not to lose hope at least once in a while." He cups Cisco's cheek tenderly, thumb brushing his fluttering eyelashes. "But then I met you, I got to know you, and I was reminded that this time is no place for someone like me, if only because this time is no place for someone like you." 

Slowly, Cisco opens his eyes and once again Eobard is happy to have a mind fast enough to study each of the emotions coexisting in Cisco's face. There is so much hope and curiosity but also insecurity and the ever present doubt about his own value. But binding it all together is that spark of something Eobard is getting used to identify as _love_. 

"May, may I have some time to think?" 

"Of course, you have as long as-" 

"I do!" 

Eobard smiles, delighted, his heart vibrating inside his chest, the humm of his pulse on his ears. Unable to control himself he flashes across the room and has he and Cisco dressed and at the foyer in less than 30 seconds. Cisco sways on his feet when Eobard puts him down, his hair in disarray, his expression confused for a second until he catches on on what happened. 

"This is very practical." He muses, tucking his hair back behind his ears. "Where are we going?" 

Instead of answering, Eobard kisses him. Cisco remembers their first kiss, right there in that same foyer, and it seems appropriate: this is a kind of first kiss on its own right after all. 

"First we're going to eat, then we're doing whatever you want." 

Cisco steals a quick kiss. "How about calling delivery and you taking me back to the bedroom faster than the speed of sound right now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And at this point no science make sense whatsoever and I am suffering from Star Trek withdrawls.


	8. Chapter 8

The applause is loud and last for a long while. Dr. Wells stands in front of the newly finished blueprint of the particle accelerator. All his employees have their eyes on him and he holds his head high, a proud glint to his blue eyes. A benevolent smile. When the room is once again silent he speaks again. "Building this particle accelerator has been my life dream for a long time, even before the birth of STAR Labs. And I believe it will be its rebirth. I have taken my time, awaited for the best moment and for the best people to be around me. And now I know I have all I need to bring this to life." He makes a pause, opening his arms and slowly turning to face every direction. He smiles and everyone in the room feels personally addressed by that. He stops on an optimal angle, allowing the marketing department time to take pictures. 

"I'll not lie to you, those will be two hard years. This project will take a lot from all of us, our energy, time, passion, and patience. All of those will be tested to their limits but the rewards... oh they will be worth it." He flashes another smile. A few of the scientists present moved to discreet tears. "Let us join our forces here, now; and together we will reap the fruit of our labor. Not for us, but for all who will come after us." 

Another, shorter, round of applause. He nods politely when it ends. "And as a last word of advice, if my opinion is worth anything, go and celebrate! You all have the weekend ahead of you now and I suggest you go, live and celebrate and burn all the stale energy left on you, and come back new and ready on Monday. On the risk of sounding cliche, next week and the next two years, will mark the beginning of the rest of our lives." 

Dr. Wells claps energetically as his employees celebrate his speech. The conference room empties quickly after that, the working hours ended quite a while before the end of Wells' presentation. The doctor is forced to stay longer still, posing for pictures and talking to the marketing department. Gail, the head of the department, makes lots of questions and promises to send a rough draft of the release to his e-mail on that same night so he could check and change anything over the weekend. 

He is tired, making rousing speeches being one of his least favorite activities. His neck is tense and he is expecting to find Cisco on his office but the room is empty when he arrives there. This is unusual, specially because he is sure Cisco has stayed at the conference room until the end of the presentation. There is no reason for him to be gone or on his workshop now. 

It takes Eobard a moment of reflection to realize where Cisco is. 

The corridors are mostly empty by now, just the occasional security staff or late worker rushing to catch the bus still wandering the laboratory. It is easy to arrive at the right point of the wall unnoticed. He presses his palm against the metal panel and waits as the door slides open. "So there you are." He says, fondly, as he sees Cisco leaning over his Reverse Flash suit on the Time Vault. 

"It took you quite a while to figure it out. Maybe you're getting slow?" Cisco teases with a smile. Eobard can't resist the way he looks: hair pulled back in a little bun, a grin on his pretty lips, a smudge of soldering residue on his cheek. The speedster crosses the room faster than the blink of an eye and kisses his lover soundly. "Oh, no, still fast as ever." 

They laugh and Eobard steals another quick kiss before letting Cisco down again. "What are you doing? I thought you'd be ready to leave." 

"I was but Gail decided to keep you there on the conference room so I decided to make myself useful." He twirls the soldering iron and points the open lightning bolt symbol on the suit. "I've been thinking about it for a while but just now I found time to do it. I installed a cardiac monitor and a one-use-only defibrillator to your emblem." 

Eobard slides closer and wraps his arms loosely around Cisco's waist. He places his chin over the shorter man's shoulder looking at the open circle on his suit. "This is very thoughtful, I just don't think I'll be using this in a long while." Cisco shrugs, dislodging Eobard's chin a bit. 

"I know but, still, when or if you use it again I want to be sure you'll be safe and I'll be able to help if something happens." He turns around in the circle of Eobard's arms and rests his face on the other's chest. 

"Thank you." Eobard kisses the top of Cisco's head and distractedly plays with the small fluff of Cisco's tied hair. "So, I was going to show it to you on Monday but since we're here, there is something you must see." 

They untangle slowly, Cisco carefully placing his tools on a bench before following Eobard to Gideon's console. The speedster doesn't access the AI however, only using the projector to show Cisco the completed blueprint of the particle accelerator. "I've seen you slipped some of your future creations here, you should patent them." Cisco observes. "Would make big money." 

Eobard shakes his head. "I can't, it may reverberate wrongly in the future. And I put the future concepts just in parts and small pieces, people will be amazed but not enough to get suspicious." 

Cisco snorts. "It is impossible to get suspicious of something like this, Eo. People usually don't come from the future." He teases and Eobard retaliates by gently biting his ear. 

"Anyhow, this is one of the topics I wanted to talk to you about. I need you to build those pieces. I don't care if someone else assemble the final piece, but _you_ must build the parts." He tilts Cisco's head so their eyes are meeting and speaks once again. "I can't have anyone else handling these projects, ok? I believe they will take a lot of your time from now on, so I'll probably move you to another position." 

"Not gonna be your busboy anymore?" Eobard frowns at him. 

"You've never been a busboy, don't sell yourself cheaply I've told you already." Cisco nods, apologetically and Eobard squeezes him a little before turning his attention back at the holographic display. "If you think you can multitask your way through it, be my guest. But now it is more important to me to have you leading the particle accelerator than helping me on any other side project." He says with a most serious voice and Cisco nods, all business-like. 

"Of course I'll multitask, isn't it what I'm always doing?" They share a beat of silence, just looking at each other. Cisco points the project and continues. "You said this was one of the things you wanted to talk about with me. What is the other?" 

Eobard takes a deep breath, readying himself for something. Cisco gets slightly uneasy. To rip such a reaction from Eobard, the next topic is certainly heavy. 

"Cisco, why are we building this particle accelerator?" He questions. Most times he doesn't like giving out direct answers, usually preferring to guide Cisco through the problem until the younger man found the answer himself. 

"To contaminate Barry Allen with dark matter particles and make him The Flash." Cisco answers dutifully, having learned all about Allen's _superhero origin story_ in Gideon's database. 

"But..." Eobard prompts. Cisco thinks for a few seconds. 

"Fully functioning particle accelerators don't leak dark matter." 

"So..." 

"We're building a faulty one." Cisco's eyes widen, his eyebrows drop to a confused angle. He says so with a hint of hope to be proven wrong but the look Eobard gives him tells him otherwise. "You want it to explode?" 

"If there was another way I'd gladly do so, but Allen must be hit by the radiation and there is no other way of doing it." 

"He.. He is a scientist too!" Cisco tries to argument. "He loves your work, we could invite him to the lab, give a tour, expose him to the dark matter in a confined environment..." 

Eobard grips his shoulders, thumb brushing over the neck of his t-shirt. "I wish it was that simple my clever boy. The circumstances of the accident that turned Barry Allen into the Flash are more complicated than this. We can't reproduce them, only a true explosion will do." 

Cisco watches Eobard for a very long time, his bottom lip dry with bated breath. "But - but the people? The... lab, all your work?" He stutters nervously. 

"Not all will be lost." Eobard comforts him. "We'll devise a way to salvage our employees, and the laboratory was built with this in mind, it will take the blow." 

"And the rest of the city?" 

Once again Eobard takes a deep breath. "There will be collateral damage, I'm sorry." 

"Show me." Cisco demands in a breathy voice. Eobard goes back to the console, typing codes and accessing hidden files even Cisco hadn't ever seen before. 

"This is the official project." Eobard says pulling the image on the projector. "And this is the piece that you and I will build and install together, the one that will cause the system failure and make it blow." Another image pops up and Eobard superposes them. Cisco sees how the faulty piece fits meticulously in the particle accelerator original design, not even a careful analysis of the final product would reveal the ruse. Cisco licks his lips nervously. 

"And what about the explosion? Show me the simulation." Eobard can't help but smile a bit. Trust Cisco to know him well enough to know all the steps he'd taken in his planning. 

A 3D model of Central City blinks to life in the holographic projection, STAR Labs highlighted in yellow against the blue of the whole city. "The center of the explosion will be here." Eobard says, pointing at a blinking orange point. He types a command into the console and the blinking spot grows, engulfing a good portion of the city and destroying it until just the residue of radiation reaches the CCPD and the West family house, the places Barry Allen supposedly spends his time at. 

"This will destroy so many things..." Cisco says in a small voice, more to himself than to Eobard. The time traveler looks at him, for once unsure of what to do. Cisco had always had a way of putting things into perspective for him and since the beginning of their professional relationship the younger man never backed away from showing his disagreements. What if this is the breaking point? That one thing Cisco won't do for him? What if he's gone too far? He genuinely feels his throat collapse under the weight of this moment. 

"Cisco?" He can't help but fill the silence, an urge he can't remember ever happening to him before. 

"What..." Cisco swallows hard, eyes still glued to the simulated explosion playing on repeat in front of him. "What if we redirect the explosion? Adjust the angle of the stress relief point, reinforce the lateral containing units, force the blow upwards?" He finally looks back at Eobard, eyes glossy, a bit scared a bit hopeful. "The force of the explosion would expel dark matter particles and other radiation residue to the lowest levels of the atmosphere causing a storm and spreading throughout the city evenly. The laboratory itself would take the brunt of the explosion, the radius of the explosion would be reduced to less than a mile around the lab." 

Eobard finally breathes again. How can Cisco fit so perfectly into his life? Eobard had just asked him to destroy half the city and the boy didn't even try to talk him out of it, didn't make any threats or had any breakdowns. No, he accepted that the explosion was necessary and immediately worked out a better way to proceed. Even in face of this inhuman demand he stays by Eobard's side, meekly asking to make things easier and better for him. 

A rush of possessive affection floods him and he hugs Cisco hard enough to hurt and kisses him until the air on their lungs grow stale. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but it was the best thing I've done in my life." He murmurs against kiss red lips. Cisco whimpers, a tiny sound that pours fire on Eobard's blood. "If I never go one day without you it will be too much already." 

Cisco sobs against Eobard's neck, understanding the sudden kiss as the permission to follow his plans it actually is. He clings to the taller man, knuckles white against dark fabric. Eobard has been planning this for so long, much more than a decade if you consider his work before the time travel. He had taken his own precautions, made his own calculations and with so much at stake and so little time he still gives Cisco what he wants. He still puts his plans to jeopardy just to ease Cisco's sudden emotional response. 

Eobard leans down to kiss Cisco once again. _Just this once more and I'll take him home_ , he thinks. But one kiss turns into two, and three, and then he just pushes Cisco against the console, turning the projection off by accident. He steps between the engineer's legs, pressing his chest to Cisco's and eagerly pulling his hair free of the elastic band. As the black strands fall, silk smooth and warm against his fingers, he feels Cisco's breath hitch, his hips roll against Eobard's pant leg. 

A growl leaves Eobard's lips as he pulls Cisco close enough for their legs to twine and their crotches to rub and grind together. The noises filling the air, the erratic movements of Cisco's legs bringing Eobard closer, of Eobard's hands pressing against Cisco's back. The kisses and sobs. Everything has a desperate quality that doesn't go unnoticed. 

They hump and grope each other frantically, the weight and enormity of their next step pushing them forward. Cisco presses his wet eyes to Eobard's neck and comes with small hiccups, lips pressing against the vibrating pulse point on Eobard's throat. Holding Cisco's loose and pliant form against him, Eobard comes shortly after, his own gasps twinning on the messy dark strands of Cisco's hair. 

There is a moment of perfect stillness, breaths down to a normal rhythm but no desire whatsoever of pulling away from each other. Slowly Cisco leans back, sitting more properly on the console, hair sticking to his face, making him look so boyish it makes Eobard's heart clench. 

The cooling mess on their pants is growing uncomfortable by the minute but the moment is not yet broken. They can hold onto it for a little longer. Eobard carefully brushes Cisco's hair back and away from his face, blue eyes never leaving expressive brown ones. "I love you." 

Cisco's breath catches on his throat, the moment gone but replaced with something else. Something wholesome and tender, not a hint of the previous desperation left. Cisco hugs Eobard gently, not daring to bring any kind of strength or struggle to this new mood. "I love you too." 

Eobard's thumb brush Cisco's wet eyelashes carefully. "We'll do it your way. The damage will be smaller but more people will be affected by the radiation, you know it, right?" 

"Yes, but they will live." Cisco closes his eyes and nuzzles against Eobard's palm. "And we will help them, we can use it to rebuild the lab's image when it crumbles with the explosion." 

"Thank you." Eobard can't think of anything else to say. 

"Say it again..." Cisco asks quietly, still pressing his face to Eobard's warm hand. 

"Thank you." 

"No, the other thing." Cisco peeks from under his eyelashes, a blush coloring his face. Eobard smiles fondly. 

"I love you."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm immensely thankful to [checkerboardom](http://archiveofourown.org/users/checkerboardom/pseuds/checkerboardom) for listening to my rumblings about this fic and giving very good advice


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That's it, we're officially in canon territory right now!  
> This chapter was very hard to write because emotions and since I hate suffering alone, please read it and cry with me.

Building the particle accelerator is the most _overwhelming_ thing Cisco has ever done. He isn't stranger to pulling all nighters and working miracles with resources and deadlines but nothing before prepared him for this project. 

The excitement of _building a particle accelerator_ died in about six months. The designers growing frustrated by how difficult it is to follow Dr. Wells' specifications; the engineers crazy with the sheer amount of parts to build; the contractors unhappy with the insanely complex design of the underground chambers. Even those not directly working on the accelerator suffer from what some employees decided to call the Particle Plague. 

After almost a year, breakdowns in the accountability department become regular with new demands and costs adding to the project's already stellar budget. Even the once harmonious chemistry and applied biology departments are now in a constant tug of war, fighting over any vacant moment in the accelerators schedule. 

Cisco finds himself in the eye of this storm, his recently  acquired position as one of the head engineer drowning him in a kind of responsibility he isn't used to. His whole life had been spent in someone else's shadow, to step ahead and take the lead in a project as big as this is new and frankly terrifying. Most days he just feels too small, surrounded by tall men in suits talking with years of experience on their backs. 

On the eighth month he spends 72 hours working and passes out in the middle of his workshop. 

Two weeks later he accidentally welds carbon and magnesium mesh to his pants, the melting metal burning through the fabric and eating at his skin. 

Ten days before the first year anniversary he spends a whole day staring at the wall, his mind so full it feels like there is cotton stuck to every crevice of his brain. 

On the first incident Eobard takes him to the med bay and laughs when he wakes up with drool at the corner of his lips. The older man apologizes for not noticing that Cisco, with his poor regular human body, was trying to keep up with his super metabolism and work non stop for days. On the second incident Eobard breaks a few patents to synthesize a protein that fills the hollow spot the molten magnesium left on Cisco's thigh. He also kisses the scar so delicately Cisco actually cries. 

On the third incident he whisks Cisco away. Away from that project, from the laboratory and the city and the stress. He just stops running when he feels salt in the air around them. That night he makes love to Cisco under the moonlight, salt water and sand around them in the silent deserted beach. He wovens promises on Cisco's hair and says he'll take better care of his clever boy. 

The next six months come with a kind of maturity. Everyone is focused once again, the euphoria and despair left behind. The expertise the first year granted is now used to solve problems quick and efficiently. 

Cisco works diligently. During the day he works on the futuristic technology Eobard had slipped into the project. His days are full of meetings with other engineers and visit after visit to the building site accompanying the installation of the finished parts. At night he and Eobard pour themselves over the design and fabrication of the faulty parts that will cause the explosion. And the safeguards that will allow them properly control it. 

After those three incidents Eobard makes sure to keep Cisco in line. He brings food to him in the middle of the afternoon, a flash of yellow light leaving a sandwich or a piece of pie or fruit behind. The older man also makes sure Cisco's spending enough time on the bed - after some bargaining from both sides they decide that five hours of sleep was the minimum and Cisco accepted after he got Eobard to promise to always go to bed with him. 

On the final six months the shinning euphoria slowly comes back. The mood is tight with expectations and it is possible to count on the fingers the employees who don't have dark bags under their eyes. Nonetheless everyone is excited,  the result of their efforts easy to see now that most of the accelerator is already in place. 

Cisco and Eobard spend their nights replacing the functioning pieces by their phony ones. One by one they rebuild the needed sections, Eobard disassembling the spare parts and recycling the materials into new pieces. 

When they replace the thermal oscillator, the most important piece on their work of art, they drop to their knees in tears. A mixed feeling, heavy but so light  at the same time, settles in their chest and Cisco gives himself over to Eobard against the thick metallic hull of the piece. 

\----- 

"You should sleep," Eobard says, kissing Cisco's forehead tenderly. 

"I know but..." Cisco hesitates, drawing irregular circles on Eobard's skin. "I don't know when we'll be together again after tomorrow." Eobard lifts an eyebrow at him and Cisco groans, looking up at the ceiling. "So much will happen tomorrow, the explosion and after it there will be cops, and hospitals, and angry mobs, and _him_. I don't want to waste this last night sleeping." 

Eobard smiles and pulls Cisco up, the younger man straddling his thighs. "We'll be fine, you'll be back here before you realize." He combs Cisco's hair back gently and twirls it into a bun the falls apart as soon as he removes his hand. "I will be in the control room, and it is completely safe. If anything goes awry I'll just phase through it. And you will be..." 

"At the Time Vault, safe as a bird on the nest," Cisco completes, smiling. They stare at each other a moment longer and slowly Cisco's face turn dark and he can't hold Eobard's stare any longer. "But... I can't stop thinking what if I made a mistake? What if your facility or your employees get hurt?" 

Eobard watches him for a while as he sits uncomfortably over the speedster's legs. Cisco had grown over his insecurities but not as much as Eobard would want him to. This boy had done unspeakable things, amazing, impressive, incredible things with and for him and still... 

"Cisco, love, look at me," he asks, holding Cisco's chin and pulling it so they are facing each other. "There is no mistake in this project that is yours; we've done everything together if anything fails it will be my fault as much as it is yours. And as for STAR Labs and its employees, they are not mine, they are ours," Cisco's eyes shimmer with tears. "Everything I own is yours in every aspect but name. You work in our laboratory, building our particle accelerator and when this all closes up you come back to our home and we sleep in our bed." 

With a strangled sound Cisco leans forward, fists held tight on Eobard's sleeping shirt, his moist face pressed to the older man's chest. Eobard sits there in the bed, cradling Cisco with gentle touches to the boy's bare back and kisses to his hair. 

Despite his earlier words, Cisco falls asleep quickly like that. 

\------------ 

Cisco isn't at the public speech, his head too full with readings and simulations and possibilities. And Ronnie. Ronnie wasn't supposed to be there, this is something Eobard and him had decided long ago. It took them two years to make sure Ronnie wouldn't be there on the launching day, but the symposium he was supposed to be attending was cancelled and he went to the laboratory to be with Caitlin in that important day. 

The clock comes closer to the hour they've been waiting for for so long. Dr. Wells arrives at the control room, his smile is bright and there is a spring to his step that is very new to everybody in the room. Everybody except Cisco. 

"Dr. Wells, we just got the latest weather report. A big thunderstorm is rolling in," Cisco says as Dr. Wells passes him by. His eyes move quickly to Ronnie's direction, his eyebrows shooting up in alarm. 

"We're not launching a space shuttle," Dr. Wells replies, inclining his head slightly to show he'd understood Cisco's worries. "We'll be fine." 

Cisco nods, still nervous about Ronnie's presence there. The guy is one of his only friends, and also a brilliant engineer and also had a knack for heroism. Cisco _knows_ he will try to go and fix things once the malfunction begins and that could put him in a danger Cisco is not willing to let him go through. The young engineer fiddles with the blue tie around his neck, the one he plucked from Eobard's collar before they entered the lab that evening. 

Taking his place on the command center Cisco clears his throat, no point in wallowing in preoccupations. "Dr. Wells, the accelerator is primed and ready for particle injection." 

Everyone in the room gather closer to the main console and their boss. Dr. Wells regards all the employees there with an excited smile. For a split second, however, he smiles specially for Cisco; a smile that is equal parts excitement and reassurance. Cisco smiles back at Eobard before focusing on the control panel. 

"Well, I feel I should say something profound like one small step for man, but all I can think of to say is, I feel like I've waited for this day for centuries." There is a collective gasp as all the presents hold their breath. Dr. Wells touches the screen on the main control panel, the accelerator is turned on. 

"That's it? You'd think there'd be, like, a loud bang." Cisco says, mostly as a joke but also as a real question to Eobard. 

"If there was a loud bang, we'd all be in big trouble," Ronnie says with an affectionate smile.  

"Take it from the guy who helped build it," Caitlin adds, clearly proud of her fiance. Cisco's heart clenches. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, we did it," Dr. Wells announces. Caitlin kisses Ronnie as everyone else claps. 

The loud pop of a champagne bottle opening catches their attention. Dr. Wells smiles as he holds the bottle for everyone to see, one lady from cleaning staff bringing glasses for them in a tray. Then the laughter and claps die. 

A moment of perfect stillness raises goosebumps on their necks and when it breaks the champagne is weightlessly floating out of the bottle. All eyes trained on the pearly liquid, flowing in slow motion, rising and expanding in the air like blown glass. And then it falls. 

The lights flicker and a few go off completely. A low rumble can be felt, coming from the ground and echoing in the bones of their feet. 

"Was that..." Now that it is happening Cisco can't remember what to do, all the plan suddenly wiped out of his mind. 

"A loud bang," Ronnie says darkly. 

Cisco can't think, he knows he must go to the Time Vault, must make sure Caitlin and Ronnie are safe, must make sure it will work. But all the can think of is crying and asking Eobard to hold and comfort him. 

In the panic stricken control room nobody pays attention to the sudden gush of wind messing a few clothes and hair. But even being faster than the eye could see, Cisco feels a comforting hand on his shoulder, so light and fleeting it could be his imagination. But it isn't. He swalows his nerves and leans over the status report flashing on the screen. 

"There's an anomaly in the core chamber," he says in a professional manner. He clearly remembers the order in which the parts of the accelerator should break, he visualizes what is happening underground as he reads the generated data. 

"The ring's structural integrity is holding," Caitlin adds, reading from her own screen. Ronnie hovers over her shoulder, looking at the reports with a deep frown. 

"It's started a chain reaction, the system is collapsing," Dr. Wells declares. It is their code. "We need to shut it down." 

"We can't ramp down the accelerator from here," Cisco explains. "We need to do it manually." This is the moment he goes to the pipeline, turns on the safeguard that will redirect the explosion up, and safely goes to the Time Vault. 

"Go!" Dr. Wells tells him and there is an undeniable amount of Eobard's worries in this command. 

Cisco leaves the room immediately, his heart hammering loudly, his palms sweaty and throat closed. With each step he prays to be alone, to be left on his own to just follow with their plans like they had so painstakingly planned. But of course things don't go his way. 

He is in the middle of the way when heavy footsteps come closer and Ronnie's big hand reach for his arm. The touch is quick, the two of them running to get to their destination. Cisco feels all his certainty being once again put to prove. If only he were strong enough to just knock Ronnie out, put him in a safe room and go on with the plan, but no, he must try and convince this brilliant and _good_ man to be a coward for his own sake. 

Ronnie arrives first at the door to the pipeline, when Cisco follows up, short of breath and sweaty, he is already accessing the panel and opening the door. 

"Okay, you stay here," Ronnie says resolutely, one foot already inside the core chamber. "We've only got a few minutes before this thing blows, and if I'm not back in time, you need to initiate lockdown." 

"No way. I am not closing this door," Cisco shakes his head, eyes wide. "I won't be able to open it again." 

"Cisco, if you don't seal off the blast, everyone in this building will die, including Caitlin." Ronnie tells, determination on every word. Cisco wants to scream. He wants to yell at the top of his lungs that no, Caitlin will not die, no one on the control room will. He wants to grab Ronnie's shoulder and shout that everything has been staged and that if he could only _understand_ Cisco they'd all make it alive and well. 

But he can't. 

"Okay, now promise me," Ronnie insists. Cisco hates himself for nodding in agreement. "Set your watch. Two minutes." 

The numbers shift in Cisco's watch. "You're coming back," he says and he needs to believe it if he wants to go on with this. 

Those two minutes pass slowly, but also so fast. Cisco watches the numbers shifting and changing, blue against the black backdrop. The watch his grandmother's given him on the day he graduated. The day he first kissed Dr. Wells. The counter reaches zero. 

He can't do it, and yet he must. With bated breath he sticks his head inside, hoping beyond hope to catch Ronnie's silhouette running towards him. But there is nothing but chaos in the core chamber. By now all the faulty parts have already blown or broken, the explosion is imminent. 

His hands are shaking as he touches the door panel. The door slides down. A part of him dies. 

If he weren't so burdened by stress and grief the alarms would bother him. He is engaging the safeguards when another sound catches his attention. The characteristic clicking of high heels in polished floor. Oh no.

"Where's Ronnie?" Caitlin is already asking even before fully arriving at the entrance of the core chamber. "Cisco, where is he?" 

Cisco has a ton of dust in his throat. "He's still inside." 

"What?" She sounds appalled. "Open the door!" Caitlin demands, gesturing wildly at the reinforced door. 

"I can't," he says and no words had been so hard to say before. "We're in lockdown mode." 

"Cisco, we have to get him out of there or he'll die," she argues, as if her sound reasoning would somehow override the systems. He feels like dying. 

The walkie talkie in Cisco's hand buzzes to life, Ronnie's voice coming through full of static. "Cisco, can you hear me?" 

Caitlin snatches it from Cisco's limp hand. "Ronnie, it's me." 

Small explosions can be heard both from the walkie talkie and through the thick door. Ronnie is out of breath. "Caitlin," he says, voice shaken. "Is Cisco there?" 

"Yeah, Ronnie, I'm here. I'm listening." 

"I adjusted the magnets to redirect the beam to try and vent the system so the blast goes up and not out." Ronnie explains through the static and explosions. Cisco wants to cry, Ronnie is wasting his life in a heroic gesture that will amount to _nothing_. The pieces Cisco and Eobard redesigned are meant to do exactly what he'll give his life to do. 

Cisco swallows hard. "I'll need to reset the particle parameters to compensate," he doesn't need to, but he can't deal with another second looking into Caitlin's watery eyes and listening to Ronnie's broken voice through that damned walkie talkie. 

He focuses on the irregular pattern of the explosions, on the irregular beat of his own heart, on anything but Caitlin and Ronnie's last words to each other. There is a panel nearby with a load of wires and cables rendered useless by now but he works on those wires as if their lives depended on it. He looks at his watch, the time is arriving fast. 

Caitlin is clutching the walkie talkie like a lifeline, her voice hoarse as she calls for Ronnie. A rushing sound, like a huge wave, comes through the communication channel and Cisco knows this is it. 

The door takes most of the impact but both Caitlin and Cisco are thrown back in a flash of blinding white light. He somehow manages to catch her fall, cushioning her head on his shoulder. They land in the middle of the ramp, alarms piercing through their ears and brains, the rumble of the explosion still reverberating on their chests. 

Cisco has his arms around her, offering a protection he doesn't feel worth of giving her. She is limp on his grasp and for a second he is worried that she might have passed away as well. He touches her neck and finds a wildly beating pulse there, but she doesn't budge under his touch. 

"Cait?" He calls softly, his voice inaudible even to his own ears. "Caitlin," he repeats, louder this time. 

She shows no reaction. He looks down and sees she is out, either the physical exertion or the emotional trauma being too much for her to handle. 

Certain that she wouldn't wake up anytime soon he hugs her close, tears wetting her copper curls. "I'm so sorry," he murmurs, pressing his face to her hair. He can't stop apologizing, he can't stop hating himself for doing this to her. 

He doesn't stop crying until he eventually falls asleep, alarm still blaring on, smoke curling from underneath the door and slowly creeping towards them.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the dialogues I used this site here: http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-flash-2014  
> :)

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a literal year since I last wrote anything oh god why did I do this to myself?
> 
> So, about this story; it is a mix of my undying love of Cisco/Eobard, and my need to be that one person who doesn't portray them in an abusive relationship. I don't even think it is that farfetched, just think Cisco getting pissed off at his family and everyone around him and allowing himself a lot more of grey space on his moral code. Truth is I wanted to see Cisco having fun as a bad guy and Eobard going through with his plans with the precious help of the resident engineer genius.
> 
> This will be the main part on a series featuring some episode-specific scenes.


End file.
